


The One with her Best Friend’s Wedding

by TacosAreTasty33



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Best Friends, F/F, Maybe a happy ending?, Unrequited Love, Wayhaught is endgame, Wedding Planning, jk totally going to have a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-04-23 23:24:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 35,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14343141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TacosAreTasty33/pseuds/TacosAreTasty33
Summary: Waverly and Nicole have been best friends since college, but Nicole has always wanted to be more. Now, her chances at ever getting the girl are royally screwed when Waverly shows up, Champ’s engagement ring on her finger. To make matters worse, Waverly asks Nicole to be her maid of honor.Can Nicole survive the torture that will be watching the woman she loves marry someone else? Is there a chance for a Happily Ever After for these two best friends?Find out over the course of “The One with her Best Friend’s Wedding”!





	1. What Hurts the Most

**Author's Note:**

> Hey Earpers and fellow fic-readers/writers!
> 
> So as promised...I am back with another Wayhaught AU! I had so much fun writing the Flowershop AU Fic that I wanted to write another multi-chapter one!
> 
> This is based loosely on the movie “My Best Friend’s Wedding” starring Julia Roberts and also on the prompt: Characters A and B are best friends. Character B is hopelessly in love with Character A, but Character A is getting married to someone else. To make matters worse, they ask Character B to be their Maid of Honor/Best Man.
> 
> In this world, Waverly and Nicole met in college and both ended up moving back to Purgatory after graduation. Waverly does research for Purgatory’s Historical Society and moonlights as a bartender at Shorty’s, and Nicole is a rookie Sheriff’s Deputy.
> 
> First and foremost, HUGE shoutout to my girl Sherbear (aka the best muse ever)! I literally could not have done this without her :)
> 
> Next, this fic will have anywhere between 8 and 10 chapters. I am still in the process of writing it, so I don't really know how long it will turn out be! PSA be prepared for a whole lot of angst and hurt...before a fluffy happy ending a long long long time in the making!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the amazing world of Wynonna Earp! Once again, I am just a girl, sitting in front of her computer, writing about the characters she loves.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Nicole was bored, insanely bored.
> 
> She had finished all of her paperwork, rearranged her desk multiple times, and had cleaned what was essentially toxic waste out of the break room fridge. And she had done it all in the first few hours of her shift. 
> 
> So Nicole resorted to what she always did during the mind-numbing boredom that accompanied Tuesday afternoon shifts: spinning around in her desk chair."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Earpers I have a few things to say. 
> 
> One: Right now I am telling you: Buckle up, Buttercup, because this is definitely going to hurt. I am going to torture you in the best and worst ways for like 10 chapters, but I will deliver a happy ending I PROMISE!
> 
> Six: This chapter really sets the scene for the rest of the fic and introduces us to what is going on in Purgatory! 
> 
> Seventeen: The title of this chapter is the song “What Hurts the Most” by Rascal Flatts. I was inspired by our lord and savior Emily Andras to titles my chapters after songs, so I would recommend listening to it :)
> 
> Twenty-Four: I already said this but please know there is definitely going to be more angst in this fic as a whole just because of the prompt. But I promise the pain will be worth it in the end! If you’ve read any of my stories before, you know I’m a sucker for a happy ending :)
> 
> So...that's it. I am done showing off my mad counting skills. 
> 
> And without further ado...here is Chapter One: What Hurts the Most.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it Earpers, xoxo

** Chapter One: What Hurts the Most **

Nicole was bored, insanely bored.

She had finished all of her paperwork, rearranged her desk multiple times, _and_ had cleaned what was essentially toxic waste out of the break room fridge. And she had done it all in the first few hours of her shift. 

So Nicole resorted to what she always did during the mind-numbing boredom that accompanied Tuesday afternoon shifts: spinning around in her desk chair. 

It was a completely childish pastime, to twirl around in a chair and watch the world fly by in a blur. But it killed minutes off the clock and was actually pretty fun.  Putting her foot down, Nicole gave herself another push, propelling herself into a new turn. She had just completed her fourth full spin when an amused voice broke the silence of the office. 

“Workin’ hard, or hardly workin’?” 

The redhead violently slammed both feet onto the ground at the interruption, an embarrassed flush creeping up her neck at having been caught spinning around in her chair. Her stop was abrupt and jarring, and while she may have stopped moving, the world continued to spin around her. Blinking her eyes a few times, Nicole willed her vision to clear. Finally, after a few moments, she was able to make sense of the shapes in front of her and the owner of the voice came into focus.

Her now-clear brown eyes took in the small frame of her best friend and a relieved sigh escaped her lips. Her best friend, Waverly Earp, had made a habit of visiting her during her shifts, and apparently now was one of those times where she randomly popped by. Sometimes she would bring coffee or a sandwich from _Shorty’s_ , or sometimes she would just run by to catch up. They had been doing this dance every day since they both decided to move to Purgatory after graduation.

For Waverly, it had been an easy choice to return to the place she had grown up. She had been offered a research position at the Purgatory Historical Society, which combined all of her passions and interests into one job. Plus, she got to go back home, to her roots, to her family. And if she had to pick up a shift or two at _Shorty’s_ to help her Aunt Gus out, well she was more than happy to.

For Nicole, it had been even easier. Nedley had called her up before graduation and offered her the position of Sheriff’s Deputy in Purgatory. Even though she didn’t know where Purgatory was on the map, she knew that it was Waverly’s hometown. So she had readily accepted the offer, knowing full well she would be upending her entire life to follow her best friend. And she was happy to do so, because she would follow that woman to the ends of the Earth, without hesitation.

She had fallen for the brunette the first day she met her, and she had been falling for her every day since. Nicole knew it was stupid to fall for her best friend, and such a lesbian cliché to fall for the straight girl. But she couldn't help it, Waverly Earp was extraordinary. But all these years, she had never said anything. Just suffered in silence and resigned herself to play the role of a best friend as long as Waverly wanted her to.

Blinking back to reality, Nicole greeted the brunette with a sheepish smile at having been caught goofing off at work. “Hey, Waves!”

Waverly grinned brightly in response and gave her a cute little wave before gesturing at the Sheriff’s office behind the redhead. “Nedley out for coffee?”

Brow furrowing, Nicole nodded and replied, “Oh you mean his hour-long break at _Shorty’s_? Yup, same time every day, kinda like clockwork.”

That was apparently the response Waverly was looking for and she moved quickly behind the desk, ambling towards the open door of Nedley’s office.

“Hey…Wave!” Nicole called out, jumping up to follow the brunette.

Waverly began flitting around inside the office, methodically closing the blinds to give the two some semblance of privacy.

“Excuse me,” she said, reaching past Nicole to close the office door.

“What is your-” Nicole began to ask, but the rest of her question died in her throat as Waverly held up her left hand, wiggling her no-longer bare ring finger.

Brown eyes widened comically at the sight and Nicole lost all ability to breathe or speak, because sitting on Waverly’s fourth finger from the right, was a small, square-cut diamond, nestled on top of a simple gold band. The jewel caught the light from the fluorescent bulbs overhead, giving it a happy sparkle that contrasted so starkly to the feelings swirling around inside Nicole’s chest.

Her face must have betrayed her shock, her bewilderment because Waverly was rushing to explain. “Champ proposed! God, Nicole…I can’t believe it! I’m engaged!” she exclaimed, hazel eyes shining with the admission.

To say that Nicole was floored was an understatement.

She looked from the ring and back up to Waverly’s face and back down to the ring. Her eyes darted between the two, never remaining too long on either one, seemingly unable to comprehend the turn of events.

In all honesty, Nicole hadn’t seen this coming. She had no clue that Champ was the marrying kind…or that Waverly even wanted to marry him. Sure, the two had been dating on-and-off through high school and college and had steadied out over the past few years since school ended. But Nicole figured the brunette would grow out of him. Would realize he was immature, selfish, and nowhere near good enough for her. She expected…well, she didn’t know what she expected. 

But a proposal? Nope. 

Waverly to say…yes? Absolutely frickin’ not.

Nicole opened and closed her mouth a few times, willing a response to form, willing anything remotely resembling a word to come out. But none escaped her, prompting Waverly to speak again.

“Did you hear me, Nic? I said Champ proposed! Isn’t that like, totally amazeballs?!”

Swallowing thickly, Nicole forced herself to nod her head, fixing a fake smile on her face. “It’s umm-it’s really something, Waves!” 

Waverly beamed up at her, seeming to buy the forged cheerfulness coming from the redhead.

Tentatively, Nicole ventured to ask, “Are you...I mean, are you happy?”

Waverly’s gaze dropped to the ring on her finger and her smile deepened. She was practically glowing, radiating happiness. The expression on her face was enough of an answer, but the brunette decided to add insult to Nicole’s injury.

“I am. I’ve been dreaming of this…of getting engaged, of getting _married_ …well, basically my whole life.”

Each affirmative answer from the brunette further twisted the knife lodged deep in Nicole’s gut, increasing her pain, increasing her heartbreak. She was eternally grateful that Waverly was focused on toying with the ring on her finger so that she wouldn’t be able to see the sadness and the disappointment clearly written on her face.

Choking down a strangled sob, Nicole rapidly blinked away the tears that sprang to the corners of her eyes. 

“Waves…this is great. I’m really happy for you. Congratulations,” Nicole managed, proud that her voice hadn’t wavered, hadn’t cracked with unchecked emotion.

Hazel eyes rose to meet brown ones, hesitation clearly swirling around in them.

“Nic?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you...would you be my maid of honor?”

Nicole sucked in a shocked breath, sure that someone out there really had it in for her. Not only had she just found out that Waverly was getting married to _him_ , but now she was being asked to _participate_. It was painful enough to know that the woman she loved was going to be marrying someone else. But the prospect of having to help her plan it? Complete and utter torture, practically cruel and unusual punishment. 

“Wha-what about Wynonna?” she asked, praying Waverly had simply overlooked the obvious choice of her older sister to play this part in her wedding. She hoped beyond hope that Wynonna would be her saving grace. But alas, luck was not on her side today. _Of course._

“No, silly! She’s walking me down the aisle. Can’t have her be the maid of honor too! And besides,” Waverly continued, a frown tugging at her lips, “she didn’t seem overly excited about all of this, anyways. So I doubt she would agree to be my maid of honor…”. Waverly trailed off with a small shrug, tilting her head down, trying to hide her crestfallen expression at having just admitted that Wynonna wasn't excited for her.

Nicole momentarily contemplated saying no. She knew that to protect her heart and preserve her sanity, she shouldn’t agree to be Waverly’s maid of honor. But…she had never been able to say ‘no’ to the brunette before, and there was no way she could start now. Add in the fact that Waverly had that kicked puppy look on her face from talking about Wynonna’s negative reaction, and Nicole’s fate was sealed. 

“…of course, I’ll be your maid of honor, Waves. That’s-that’s what best friends are for, right?”

Squealing in delight, Waverly threw her arms around Nicole’s neck, almost knocking them backward with the force of her embrace. The redhead’s arms instinctively wrapped around the brunette’s waist, pulling her close. She momentarily got lost in the hug, breathing in the flowery-scent of Waverly’s shampoo.

But too soon, Waverly was pulling away, a breathy ‘Thank you’ whispered into the air between them. Releasing her hold on Nicole’s neck, Waverly dropped back down on the ground, a grateful smile on her face. The brunette reached behind Nicole and opened the office door, saying, “So, I’ll see you later? Pizza and a movie tonight at your place?”

Nicole began to nod, before furiously backtracking. “Ahh no sorry, Waves. I actually have to work late tonight. Gotta get some overtime in the books and all that.”

Waverly’s pout was instantaneous. “But I thought you had Tuesday nights off, Nic?”

Nicole’s eyes quickly dropped to her shoes. She knew if she kept looking at that pout, she would cave. She was powerless to resist it.

“Yeah, I usually do. But…if I’m going to be the best maid of honor ever, I’m going to need all the time off I can get to help you plan the uh, the wedding. So I gotta start racking it up now, dontcha think?”

“Harrumph, fine…” Waverly sulked, crossing her arms over her chest. But immediately she brightened back up, mood changing so fast it almost gave Nicole whiplash. “Tomorrow night instead?”

Melting at the adorable persistence of the brunette, Nicole’s resolve slipped away and she found herself agreeing despite her reservations. “Sure, Waverly…whatever you want. My place, say around 7?”

Clapping her hands together excitedly, Waverly replied, “Perfect! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

With one last, brief hug for the redhead, Waverly scampered out of the office, an obvious pep in her step.

Nicole’s eyes followed the retreating form of the brunette until she had disappeared from view. Only then did she let out the strangled and heartbroken sound she had been holding deep in her chest. The noise that escaped her lips was somewhere between a groan and a sob, and it echoed off the walls of Nedley’s office.

Realizing the Sheriff would be back soon, Nicole hastily exited the room and closed the door behind her, leaning back against it. She briefly closed her eyes and willed the tears that threatened to fall to remain hidden a little while longer. Her shift was almost over and then she could go home and lose her cool because she most definitely was not working any overtime tonight. 

Nicole felt a tad guilty about lying to the brunette about having to work tonight. She prided herself on doing her very best to always be honest with Waverly, because not only was she basically incapable of lying to her, she also never wanted to be anything but truthful with the woman who unknowingly held her heart. So the lie she had told Waverly was eating away at her, despite knowing that it had been a necessary untruth.

The redhead needed some time away from her best friend. She needed the chance to sort through the multitude of emotions currently warring inside of her, the time to lick her wounds, attempt to heal her broken heart, and pick herself back up. She needed to be alone tonight. She needed to cry, to scream, to eat all the ice cream in her freezer, and drink the half bottle of wine leftover from dinner yesterday. And then tomorrow, she would bury it all and be ready to be the best friend and best maid of honor she could be.

After another hour and a half of pretending to be busy, of pretending like her entire world hadn’t been irrevocably changed for the worse, Lonnie finally showed up. Nicole quickly shot out of her desk chair, barely remembering to throw a farewell over her shoulder to her fellow Deputy before rushing out to her cruiser. 

Before Nicole knew it, she had driven the short distance to her house. She climbed up the front porch stairs with heavy steps, unlocking and opening the faded wooden door with lethargic movements. 

Inside she felt so drained, so empty. 

Without bothering with the wine or the ice cream, Nicole made her way upstairs to her room. She slowly peeled off her boots and undid her utility belt, leaving them in a heap on her floor. Locking her gun in the safe, she finally collapsed into bed, still dressed in her uniform. She didn't have the energy to take it off and thankfully had washed and pressed her second set for tomorrow.  

Burrowing underneath the covers, Nicole curled up in the fetal position and clutched a pillow tightly to her chest. Without invitation, images of Waverly began to swim through her mind. Waverly showing her the ring. Waverly smiling. Waverly hugging her. Waverly practically _glowing_ because she was so damn happy. 

Another strangled sound escaped Nicole’s lips as the dam finally broke. Anguished sobs filled the room as the redhead rocked back and forth on the bed. Burying her face in the pillow, she felt the tears that leaked out from behind her closed eyes soak the pillowcase.

She didn’t know how long she cried, how long the heart-wrenching sobs wracked her tall frame. But at some point, exhausted from _everything_ , Nicole fell into a fitful slumber. Her last coherent thought was wishing that today had just been a bad dream and she would wake up tomorrow...and Waverly wouldn’t be getting married to _him_.

\--End Chapter One--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...have I killed any of you yet? Is the pain too much? Am I crying or is it just raining indoors? Who knows, mysteries to solve another day.
> 
> I hope you will stick with me on this journey, I have cooked up a pretty great story in my own personal, unbiased opinion! 
> 
> I am going to post a new chapter every Wayhaught Wednesday, starting with today's :) Next week we've got Chapter 2 "A Little Bit Stronger"!
> 
> See y'all next Wednesday, xoxo


	2. A Little Bit Stronger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Nicole blearily blinked her eyes open.
> 
> Sunlight streamed through the blind-covered windows, illuminating her bedroom with an early-morning glow. Birds chirped loudly outside, happily announcing the arrival of a new day.
> 
> With an exhausted and frustrated groan, she grabbed a pillow and pulled it over her face, effectively shutting out the world for a few moments longer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow...a week feels like FOREVER!! But we're back and on Wayhaught Wednesday, no less!
> 
> So we're definitely still on the angst train, but there are some cute, fluffy moments interspersed in here as well :)
> 
> This chapter title refers to the song by Sara Evans and it's definitely worthy of a listen while you read.
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy Chapter 2, xoxo

** Chapter Two: A Little Bit Stronger **

Nicole blearily blinked her eyes open.

Sunlight streamed through the blind-covered windows, illuminating her bedroom with an early-morning glow. Birds chirped loudly outside, happily announcing the arrival of a new day.

With an exhausted and frustrated groan, she grabbed a pillow and pulled it over her face, effectively shutting out the world for a few moments longer.

Nicole knew she needed to get up and get ready for work, but she gave herself 30 more seconds to wallow in self-pity. She had woken up this morning feeling hungover, with a pounding headache and nausea to boot. But unfortunately, these weren’t the aftereffects of a drunken night. No, these were the results of crying herself to sleep, of her broken heart.

Arms crossing on top of the pillow over her face, Nicole whimpered at the prospect of having to face the day. All she wanted to do was stay curled up in bed, maybe actually crack open that pint of Ben and Jerry’s cookie dough ice cream sitting in her freezer. She didn't want to move, she didn't want to see anyone, and she most certainly did not want to go to work.

But there was no way she could avoid her shift, despite the fact that going into the station and working for 8 hours definitely topped the list of things she did not want to do today.

 _Well...actually. In all honesty, pizza and movie night with Waverly is at the top of the damn list_ , Nicole thought bitterly.

Letting out one more groan, Nicole whipped the pillow off of her face, slammed it into the mattress next to her with more force than necessary, and crawled out of bed. She went through her morning routine, dragging her feet through feeding Calamity Jane, brewing coffee, and getting dressed for her shift.

Part of her knew all this wallowing was completely pathetic. She had no claim to Waverly, no right to be upset. They were _just friends_ after all. But a part of her, the small but hopeful part, had always felt like there was something there. Something just underneath the surface. But she had never been able to explore that possibility because of Champ flipping Hardy. And now…well, now she knew she never would get that chance.

Grabbing her Stetson from the counter, Nicole placed it atop her cropped, fiery locks. Quickly washing down her very nutritious breakfast of two chocolate chip Pop Tarts with the last of her coffee, she pocketed her keys and readied herself to face the day.

She just had to get through a long 8-hour shift. And then she had to get through pizza and movie night with Waverly. Which meant seeing her and talking to her, probably about the wedding, and Champ, and how excited she was to marry him.

_Great._

\--

By lunchtime, Nicole was starting to feel a bit better.

It probably helped that her coworkers were giving her a wide berth, having picked up on her irritability from the deep scowl that seemed fixed permanently on her face. Even Nedley had left her to her own devices, only venturing over to her desk to tell her to go man the speed trap for the remainder of her shift.

While she usually hated that rotation, today she was beyond thankful. It not only got her out of the office, away from literally everyone and the possibility of Waverly dropping by unannounced, but it gave her time alone, time to think. As she stared out at the empty road, no cars around for miles, she began to truly process what had happened over the past 18 hours.

Nicole had allowed herself the time to wallow, to drown in self-pity, grief, and frustration. She had cried and she had hurt. She had screamed and she had raged. She had moped and she had brooded. And then she had cried a lot more.

But now, she knew she needed to bury it all. Her feelings, her very deep _deep_ feelings needed to go back into the little box she had built for them, oh so very long ago. Her feelings were her own problem and she couldn’t, she _wouldn’t_ , let them affect their relationship. At the end of the day, her friendship with Waverly Earp was one of the best things in her life.

Her best friend was kind, and she was caring, and she was always _there_ for her, day or night. Her best friend was one of the bright spots in her otherwise lackluster life. So she wasn’t about to let a little something like unrequited love stand in the way of that.

Last night and this morning had been her time to process and work through all of the _feelings_ she had in regards to the ring sitting on Waverly’s finger. But now, it was time to put on a brave face and be there for her best friend.

She knew she was about to embark on one of the most difficult and heartbreaking journeys of her life. But she would walk through hell and back for Waverly...and she had a feeling she was about to do just that.

\-- 

With a large, half-pepperoni, half-veggie pizza in hand, Nicole unlocked her front door.

She still had about 15 minutes until Waverly got here, giving her time to calm down, freak out, and then (hopefully) calm down again. Oh, and change out of her uniform.

Quickly throwing the pizza in the oven, she rushed upstairs and put on a pair of jeans and a blue and black flannel. Nicole then jumped into the bathroom and tried to tame her atrocious hat hair. With a final glance at herself in the mirror, Nicole assessed her outfit and then her wildly untamed curls. Shaking her head, Nicole muttered, "Well...this is as good as it's gonna get."

With a despondent sigh, she hurried downstairs.

She moved from room to room, absently tidying up. Nicole was definitely making good use of her nervous energy, effectively turning her already clean house into a spotless masterpiece. But as she cleaned, she worried. And as she worried, she got more and more anxious. 

_I can’t do this. I can’t pretend like the idea of her marrying Champ doesn’t kill me. I can’t pretend to enjoy helping her plan their wedding. I can’t-_

Nicole’s inner fretting was interrupted by a knock at the door, causing her heart to seize in her chest. Running a hand nervously through her hair, Nicole took a few deep breaths, willing her racing heart and her rolling stomach to calm down. With a final deep breath, she opened the front door.

The sight before her knocked what little air she had right out of her lungs. No matter how often she and Waverly hung out or how often they saw each other, every single damn time, the sight of Waverly Earp would take Nicole’s breath away. 

Leaning in a hopefully casually manner against the door, Nicole shot a dimpled grin at the brunette and willed her heart rate to decrease.

“Hey, Waves.”

Holding up the two bottles of wine, one white and one red, Waverly beamed up at her. Nicole got lost in the ray of sunshine currently standing on her porch, and any worry or anxiety she had melted away for the time being.

“Hi yourself! I brought two tonight because I’m definitely in the mood to celebrate!”

And just like that, reality came crashing back down, causing the easy smile on the redhead's face to fall. With a deep breath, Nicole reigned in her emotions and opened the door wider, beckoning Waverly inside. 

The redhead was quick to take the bottles from the brunette and walk them into the kitchen, exchanging pleasantries and small talk with her best friend as she did, the two falling into an easy dialogue like always. With practiced ease, Nicole used her handy-dandy wine opener to dispatch the cork from the bottle of Pinot Grigio, all without breaking conversation. Grabbing two mason jars from the cupboard, she poured generous portions of the white wine into each, handing one off to Waverly.

Raising her glass into the air, Nicole gazed at her best friend and suddenly words of congratulation were tumbling from her mouth, uncensored and true. “If I may...I want to propose a toast, to you, Waverly Earp. May your love shine brighter and your happiness grow with each passing day. May you wake up each morning and go to bed each night with a smile on your face and light in your heart. May your life be filled with all the right ingredients: a heap of love, a dash of humor, a touch of romance, and a spoonful of understanding. Congratulations, Waves, you deserve all the happiness in the world.”

Waverly blinked back the tears that gathered in the corners of her eyes at Nicole’s impassioned speech. She found herself wondering, not for the first time, what she did to deserve such an amazing best friend, who always seemed to know exactly what to say. Shooting a grateful, but watery, smile at the redhead, Waverly raised her mason jar in the air.

After clinking their glasses together, Waverly brought the glass jar to her lips and took a small sip of the wine. Meanwhile, Nicole gulped down a good amount the golden liquid, hoping the alcohol would settle her down.

The redhead hadn’t anticipated saying that. She hadn't expected to let her guard down and go all soft. But, she truly wanted Waverly to have all of that. She wanted her to feel loved, and cherished, and important, and _happy_. And if this was the way she would get all of that, then Nicole would do her very best to support it. 

“Anyways, time for pizza?” Nicole asked, hoping to lighten the mood and move to safer territory.

Giggling, Waverly nodded as she took another small sip of wine. She watched Nicole grab the pizza box from the oven, scooping up two plates and napkins as she went, before waltzing into the living room. Depositing the pile onto the coffee table, she set her wine down next to it. 

“Your turn to pick the movie tonight, Waves,” she tossed over her shoulder, opening the pizza box and making them each a plate. Two slices of pepperoni for Nicole, one slice of veggie for Waverly.

Following the redhead into the room, Waverly drifted over to the cabinet that held Nicole’s extensive DVD collection.

“You know your turn should be revoked after last time.”

Whipping her head around, Waverly raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at her best friend. “And why is that?”

Nicole gave her a deadpan look. “You told me that _Marley & Me_ was a comedy, Waves. _A comedy_!”

Waverly threw her head back in laughter. She had totally forgotten about that! In hindsight, maybe she had embellished a few of the facts. But she had really wanted to watch the movie and _knew_ Nicole would never go for it if she had any idea that Marley died in end! So...she _might_ have said that it was a comedy and that it was a lighthearted, family-friendly flick?

Oops. 

“Hey! It had some comedic elements in it, so not a total lie on my part. Plus, how can you not want to watch a movie with Jennifer Aniston in it?”

Pursing her lips, Nicole replied, “She's no Sandra Bullock...however, you do make some good points."

At the satisfied grin growing on the brunette's face, Nicole was quick to add, "But Waves! It made me ugly cry and you know I hate it when pets die in movies…”

Waverly softened at the sight of Nicole’s slight pout. “Awww I know you do! I promise I’ll make a better choice tonight, ‘kay?” 

Crossing her arms over her chest, Nicole shot a challenging look at the brunette. “Pinky promise?”

“No way! You’re such a dork, there’s no way I’m going to-”

Nicole arched her brow, a smirk growing on her face. 

“…fine, I pinky promise.”

“Yes!” Nicole cheered before a mock-serious expression made its way onto her face. “But…if you mess this one up, you not only lose two future turns, but we watch _Fried Green Tomatoes_ every week for the next month. Got it, Earp?”

Grumbling good-naturedly, Waverly nodded and went back to her browsing, determined not to screw it up. Although she absolutely loved _Fried Green Tomatoes_ and knew it was one of Nicole's favorites, she was competitive and stubborn. So there was no way she was letting Nicole have the satisfaction of winning.

After a few moments of perusing, Waverly found exactly what she was looking for. Grabbing three DVDs off the shelf, she turned around and presented them proudly to Nicole. 

“How about a Julia Roberts movie?”

Nicole enthusiastically fist-pumped, thrilled at the brunette’s choice. She had a huge and not-so-secret celebrity crush on Julia Roberts, which Waverly was fully aware of. The redhead had seen every movie she had ever starred in, and also owned a copy of each and every one of them.

Nicole carefully eyed the three movies in Waverly’s hands. The first one she saw _Pretty Woman_.

_Great choice, but I don’t really feel like I’m in the mood for that kind of romance tonight._

Next was _Mona Lisa Smile_.

_Oh, that’s an excellent choice and is definitely winning between the two._

And the last one…wait was that… _shit_. Eyes bugging out of her head, Nicole realized the final movie Waverly had grabbed was _My Best Friend’s Wedding_. 

 _No. No. No. No._

“No-Waves-not-umm-no-” Nicole stammered. 

Waverly’s brow furrowed, unable to comprehend why her best friend was literally short-circuiting in front of her eyes. She thought she had done so well?

“What are you talking about, Nic?” 

Throat bobbing as she swallowed, Nicole’s hand came up to rub at the back of her neck. “Just uhh not _My Best Friend’s Wedding_ , okay? I don’t-umm-I don’t like that movie. Yeah, I uhh-I really can’t stand it actually.”

Waverly’s eyes narrowed at the blatant lie coming out of Nicole’s mouth. Nicole was honestly a horrible liar and 9.9 times out of 10, Waverly would totally be able to tell if she tried to lie to her. Which she literally never did, except for right now it seemed.

Waverly knew Nicole was lying to her for some reason, but she just didn't know what that reason was. Deciding it was a mystery to solve another day, Waverly determined that she would make some time to watch that movie in the future.

“Okaaaay…how about _Mona Lisa Smile_ then?” 

Nodding her head frantically, Nicole replied, “Yes _please_!”

Tugging her bottom lip between her teeth, Waverly eyed the redhead, watching her fidget nervously with the buttons on her flannel. But after a few moments, she finally conceded, turning around to put the discarded DVDs into the cabinet before popping the movie into the player. Once it was all set, she walked over and settled onto the couch beside Nicole, pulling her plate onto her lap and taking another sip of wine. Waverly felt Nicole relax into the cushions next to her as the movie started, whatever it was that was causing her anxiety now apparently gone. 

They made quick work of the pizza and wine, finishing both before the women of Wellesley went on their winter break.

At one point, Nicole moved the empty pizza box and wine bottle further onto the coffee table before reaching behind her to grab a blanket to throw over the two of them. Waverly had gradually gotten closer and closer to her as the movie continued to play. And now, she was burrowed into Nicole’s side, head leaning against her shoulder. 

Realizing this probably wasn’t the comfiest position for the brunette, Nicole grabbed a soft throw pillow from the corner of the couch and placed it on her lap.

“Here, Waves,” Nicole whispered, nudging the other woman. 

Hazel eyes dragged away from the television to look at Nicole. A sleepy smile broke out across Waverly’s face when she saw the redhead gesture to the pillow atop her legs. Immediately, she lowered her head and settled down onto Nicole’s lap. Pulling the blanket up to her chin, she turned her gaze back to the movie.

But Nicole hadn’t done the same, her focus nowhere near the Julia’s on the screen.

Instead, she was transfixed by the way the light from the TV played off the angles and curves of Waverly’s face. The way her eyes would shine when she smiled. The way she worried her bottom lip when she was concerned. The way the spot between her eyebrows would crinkle when she was confused.

Starting to feel like a total creep for staring so long, Nicole begrudgingly returned her focus to the movie. But her eyes weren’t processing what was happening on the screen. She was too caught up in the weight of Waverly’s head in her lap, the way her body would shake with laughter. She was too caught up in everything  _Waverly._

Later on in the movie, she heard Waverly’s breathing start to slow, saw her eyes flutter shut and then stay that way. Nicole wasn’t surprised Waverly had fallen asleep. Her best friend made a habit of it, every week on their movie nights. No matter how hard she tried, Waverly could never stay awake to see the endings. Which, in Nicole's opinion, were definitely the best part. 

Feeling bold, Nicole began to slowly run her fingers through Waverly’s long honey-brown hair. She was getting lost in the mindless motion, finally feeling at peace for the first time since before Waverly had dropped the ‘I’m engaged’ bomb on her. But the blissful moment was broken by a content sigh escaping Waverly’s lips.

Nicole immediately stiffened, halting her movements. Trying her best not to panic, the redhead wondered if she had woken Waverly up and would now be caught literally red-handed, as her fingers were tangled loosely in the brunette’s waves.

But her best friend’s breathing remained even, signaling that Waverly was still sleeping.

Shoulders dropping as she relaxed, Nicole went back to running her fingers through Waverly’s hair, gently untangling any snags she found along the way. She continued the soothing motion, getting lost in the intimacy of it. That was until the credits began to play on the screen, marking the end of the film and the end of her chance to hold Waverly like this.

With a dejected sigh, Nicole grabbed the remote and shut the TV off. Carefully untangling herself from the brunette, she lowered the pillow and Waverly’s head back onto the couch. She then got up, stretching and popping her joints, working out the kinks that had formed from sitting cramped like that for a few hours.

Nicole began to clean up the mess they had made, trying to work quietly as to not wake the brunette. After throwing out the pizza box and the empty wine bottle, and putting their dishes into the sink, Nicole tiptoed back into the living room. As she cautiously picked up Waverly bridal style from the couch, the irony of the situation was not lost on her, and she had to hold back a pained snort.

Shaking her head, Nicole held the brunette tight to her chest and carried her up the stairs and into her bedroom, loving the way Waverly seemed to subconsciously snuggle closer to her. Without waking the sleeping woman, she turned down her bed and carefully placed Waverly under the multitude of covers, laying her head delicately on her own pillow.

Gently tucking her in, Nicole couldn’t help herself from pressing a feather-light kiss to Waverly’s forehead. She lingered there for a moment, eyes tracing over Waverly's relaxed features, before stepping away from the bed to grab her pajamas.

A sleepy voice stopped her, mid-stride. 

“Night, Nic. Love you.”

Closing her eyes and clenching her jaw, Nicole chanced a look over her shoulder. She saw that Waverly had curled deeper under the covers, had the sweetest little smile on her face.

Deep down, Nicole _knew_ Waverly had meant it platonically because it wasn’t the first time she had said it. But still, every time Waverly said those words…they never failed to make her heart race, her stomach clench, her mind run wild with the possibilities of _what if_.

Gazing back at the brunette, Nicole replied so softly that her voice was barely a whisper, “I love you too, Waverly. More than you’ll ever know.”

With that, she grabbed an oversized t-shirt and some boxers and headed for the couch, leaving the woman she loved fast asleep in her bed.

\--End Chapter Two--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So first of all, my all-time favorite movie is Fried Green Tomatoes and I absolutely love Julia Roberts and the movie Mona Lisa Smile, so that's why those little details made it in there!
> 
> Also, I hope I haven't lost any of you yet because there is SO MUCH left to this story!! I might have just finished writing it and let me tell you...all the hurt is worth it ;)
> 
> Next week we've got Chapter Three: Chasing Pavements! Until next Wednesday, Earpers!
> 
> xoxo


	3. Chasing Pavements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Two months later, and things were going smoothly. 
> 
> Nicole had been able to keep a handle on her feelings and find the time between work and everything else to help Waverly plan the wedding. She had taken to spending her Saturday afternoons at Shorty’s, going over all the details with the brunette. 
> 
> Today, they were finalizing a major point of contention."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow a week feels like a super long time, and I feel kinda bad for making y'all wait so long...so I have decided to post two chapters a week! One every Wednesday and Saturday until the fic is complete!!
> 
> I hope this change makes all the angst more bearable <3
> 
> But anyways we have reached Chapter Three aka "Chasing Pavements" which refers to the song by Adele. Once again, I would definitely listen to the songs I use for the chapter titles because they totally capture the vibe of each installment and plus who doesn't want to listen to Adele?
> 
> We finally get a little bit of wedding planning and then some...Champ? Ugh I know, but he has to appear at some point! But hopefully the mental image of Nicole Haught in glasses helps... ;)
> 
> xoxo

** Chapter Three: Chasing Pavements **

Two months later, and things were going smoothly.

Nicole had been able to keep a handle on her feelings and find the time between work and everything else to help Waverly plan the wedding. She had taken to spending her Saturday afternoons at Shorty’s, going over all the details with the brunette.

Today, they were finalizing a major point of contention.

“Waves…are you sure about these color choices? Like 100% positive?” 

Waverly looked up from where she had been wiping down the bar and shot Nicole a frustrated scowl. “I’m as sure as I was the last time you asked me...which was only five minutes ago!” the brunette huffed, scrubbing furiously at the spotless wood beneath her rag.

Holding her hands up in surrender, Nicole went back to tapping her pencil against the legal pad sitting on the bar and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She hated these old things and rarely ever wore them. They were practically ancient, black-framed and square in shape. She tried not to wear them outside the house, but today she had needed to with all the notes Waverly was having her take. And even though she and her glasses had a tumultuous relationship at best, she couldn't deny that she absolutely _loved_ the way Waverly would tease her when she wore them. The brunette would call her a 'nerd' under her breath, a heart-stopping smile on her face and a playful glint in her hazel eyes.

Clearing her throat, Nicole refocused and looked back over her notes on the wedding colors before sighing in defeat. 

“So the colors are grey…blue…and purple?”

Waverly's fire-filled gaze met hers and Nicole shrank back under the glare. She barely had time to react before Waverly threw the dirty rag at her, hitting her square in the face, knocking her glasses askew. 

“Nicole Haught, if you judge my wedding colors one more time, I’m going to smack you _and_ demote you to flower girl. Got it?”

Chuckling, Nicole fixed her glasses and picked up the rag from the bar. Waving it at the brunette she replied with a twinkle in her eye, “Alright alright, I surrender! White flag! You’ll get no more judgment from me.”

At the expression of disbelief on Waverly’s face, Nicole held up a three-finger salute, crossed her heart with the hand holding the rag, and with a serious expression, added, “Scout’s honor, Waves.”

The brunette dissolved into a fit of giggles and just like that, their little squabble was over. After her laughter died down, Waverly held out her hand, gesturing for the rag back. Nicole handed it over with a dimpled grin, letting her fingers brush across Waverly’s innocently, relishing in the spark she felt between them at the contact. And then, as quickly as it began, the moment was over as Waverly went back to cleaning up, moving to a stack of glasses that needed drying.

Clearing her throat, Nicole consulted her lengthy and exhaustive ‘To-Do’ list on the first page of her legal pad. “So…it looks like we’ve got everything planned then! We have the venue, the caterer, and the DJ. The bachelorette party and rehearsal dinner are all set…and finally, the invitations are ready to go out on Monday! Am I missing anything?” Nicole asked, eyes lifting to look up at her best friend.

Waverly stopped drying the glass in her hand and shot the redhead an incredulous look. “Only the most important piece of the puzzle?” 

Nicole’s brow furrowed and she wracked her brain for what Waverly could be talking about. As she moved deeper into thought, she stuck the tip of her tongue out of the corner of her mouth, much to Waverly’s amusement. After a few beats, Nicole lifted her shoulders as if to say ‘I have no clue what you’re talking about’.

Rolling her eyes, Waverly set the glass down on the counter and put her hands on her hips.

“Maybe my wedding dress?” 

Mouth forming an ‘o’, Nicole’s eyes widened and her expression turned to one of a deer in headlights. Her mind immediately jumped to Waverly in a white dress and her throat dried up at the thought. Reaching for her barely touched Root beer on the bar, she chugged the bubbly liquid, hoping it would help. But all it did was burn her throat, causing a coughing fit. Her eyes watered as she felt the carbonation tickle her nose. She coughed into her hand, trying to regain some semblance of calm and the ability to breathe without that burning sensation.

After somewhat recovering, Nicole glanced up and saw Waverly looking at her strangely, both hilarity and concern shining in her eyes. With a sheepish half-smile, Nicole was quick to steer the brunette away from the true cause of her reaction. “Sorry…I am totally the worst maid of honor ever! Who forgets about the wedding dress?! Total rookie mis-”

But the rest of her apology was cut off by the bar’s doors banging open loudly. Turning in her stool, Nicole’s eyes found the cause of the interruption and barely restrained the exasperated noise that threatened to burst from her chest. Champ Hardy, or as Nicole affectionately referred to him as the ‘royal pain in her ass’, had just walked through the doors of _Shorty’s_ and was ambling towards Waverly.

Turning back around, Nicole watched as Champ territorially wrapped his meaty arms around the brunette and pulled her in for a sloppy kiss. The kiss went on for far too long and was completely inappropriate for a public setting, in Nicole’s totally unbiased opinion. But what irked her the most was that after pulling away from Waverly, Champ kept his arm possessively around her and fixed the redhead with a challenging glare, as if to say ‘What are you gonna do about it? She’s mine’.

Dropping her gaze from the pair, Nicole resisted the urge to get up, go over there, and clock the boy-man in the face.

She couldn’t stand the way he treated Waverly. Like she belonged to him like she was his property. Nicole didn’t know what Waverly even saw in him. He wasn’t all that attractive, and Nicole could totally make that observation because she was gay, not blind. He wasn’t anywhere near as intelligent as Waverly, or as kind or as caring. But…there had to be something that Nicole wasn’t seeing because why else would Waverly stay with him…

Champ’s voice brought her back to reality, causing her to look up through the square lenses of her glasses at the not-so-newly engaged couple.

“I missed you today, babe. What do ya say you blow off the rest of your shift and come upstairs with me to blow somethin’ else?” Champ husked, pressing open-mouthed kisses to the side of Waverly’s face.

Face scrunching up in embarrassment and vague distaste, Waverly pushed Champ away with a firm hand on his chest. “Champ…not in front of my customers. And you know I can’t just bl-skip the rest of my shift to go fool around with you.”

The brunette’s gaze drifted towards her best friend, noticing that Nicole looked extremely uncomfortable. The redhead had started to twist the emerald ring around her right ring finger, a tell-tale sign of her uneasiness. Hoping to lighten the mood, she looked back at Champ and shot him a placating smile and said, “But I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear that Nic and I have gotten most of our wedding planned!”

Nose wrinkling, Champ responded, “What’s there to plan?”

Nicole couldn’t hold back her snort at the boy-man’s question, continuing to turn the ring around her finger, eyes following the motion. And then Champ was directly addressing her, something that rarely ever happened.

“Got somethin’ to say to me?” he asked, tone full of barely-controlled anger.

Shaking her head, Nicole smirked and looked up, glancing between the pair. “Nope,” she replied, popping the ‘p’ loudly.

She saw Champ puff out his chest, ready to respond, so she immediately continued, unwilling to let the chance to one-up Champ Hardy pass her by. “Well, actually Champ. I was going to say that…the funny thing about weddings is, they kinda have to be _planned_ for them to actually _happen_.”

Waverly’s hazel eyes sparkled with amusement and she brought her hand up to cover her mouth, stifling her laughter. Nicole grinned at Waverly's reaction, mentally patting herself on the back for making the brunette laugh, and at Champs' expense no less. But the boy-man was not as amused. Eyes narrowing, he looked between his fiancée and her best friend a few times before shrugging.

“Whatever. Have fun doing your girly ‘wedding planning’ things, I’m gonna head upstairs. Bring me a cold one in a few?” he asked, directing his question at Waverly.

Nicole rolled her eyes so hard she thought they were going to fall out of her head. Sometimes, she couldn’t believe the nerve of this guy! Waverly used her days off from the Historical Society to help Gus out at _Shorty’s_ , literally spending hours on her feet, waiting on the people of Purgatory. The least Champ could do was recognize that and not make her wait on him as well. But maybe that was asking too much of Champ.

Waverly simply smiled at him and sent him upstairs with a final peck, promising to bring him a beer soon. 

Turning around to face the redhead, Waverly noticed that Nicole still looked a bit uncomfortable, a touch annoyed too, so she rushed to apologize. “Sorry about him, he’s gotten very…” she trailed off, gesturing with her hands, searching for the right word.

“Affectionate?” Nicole supplied, the word leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. 

Upper lip quirking in amusement, Waverly replied, “I was going to say smothering or overprotective, but that works too.”

Nicole threw her head back and laughed loudly at the brunette’s choice of words, feeling like she had just won in a small way. After a few moments, Nicole calmed down and repositioned herself on her stool, feeling her glasses fall down for the umpteenth time that day. Using her pointer finger to push them back up, Nicole offered, “Well, either way you slice it, you don’t have to apologize for him.”

Brow wrinkled in confusion, Waverly tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean, Nic?” 

Leaning her forearms onto the bar, Nicole folded her hands together and shot the brunette an almost sad half-smile. “What I mean is that Champ, for argument’s sake, is an adult. And because of that, he’s the only one accountable for what he says and what he does. So you…you’re not responsible for him, Waves. And you never have to apologize to me, for him, or for anyone. Ever.”

Swallowing the emotions that threatened to bubble up to the surface, Nicole focused on her best friend, making sure she hadn't overstepped with what she had said. She noticed that Waverly was looking at her...well in that way that made her insides get all butterfly-y. It wasn’t a look that was all that common, at least the redhead didn’t think it was. But sometimes, when Nicole let her guard down and let her love for the other woman color her words, Waverly would give her this look of disbelief, of awe, and of gratitude.

Blushing, Nicole ducked her head and started to fidget with her ring again, worried that she had said too much. But then a soft hand was covering her own, stilling her nervous movements, causing her gaze to lift and meet warm hazel eyes.

“Nic, I…thank you.”

Before the redhead could reply, a loud noise from behind the bar shattered their moment. Annoyed, Nicole flicked her gaze over Waverly’s shoulder and tried to see what the cause of the commotion was. Her eyes found the regular bartender, Rosita, struggling with a rather heavy looking box. Quickly jumping off of her stool, and effectively removing her hands from beneath Waverly’s, Nicole moved to help the woman.

Nicole’s strong hands grabbed the bottom of the box and steadied it, much to the bartender's relief. Rosita looked at her over the top of the box and shot her savior a grateful smile. “Thank you so much! I thought I was going down with this thing!”

Flashing the other woman her signature dimpled grin, Nicole helped lower the box to the ground before tipping an imaginary Stetson and replying, “Not a problem, Ma’am. It’s my job to protect and serve the fine people of Purgatory.” 

“And you look so good doing it too,” Rosita flirted, gaze trailing down the casually-dressed Deputy before slowly rising back up to meet her chocolate brown eyes.

Nicole blushed a deep shade of crimson at Rosita’s compliment. Although her heart was taken by the woman standing literally right behind her, it was nice to be flirted with and desired from time to time.

Rosita moved around the box and approached her, confidently stepping into her personal space. “Buy you a drink to say thanks?”

Nicole's hands fell to her belt buckle as she shook her head. “‘Fraid I have to turn down your rather tempting offer, Rosita. I’m on duty tonight.” 

The pout the Latina shot her was definitely powerful, but nowhere near as irresistible as Waverly’s. Undeterred, Rosita moved to brush a nonexistent piece of dust off of the collar of Nicole’s navy blue button down.

“Alright, some other time then, Stud?”

Considering her options, Nicole couldn’t find a reason to deny the offer. Well besides the obvious one. _Waverly_. But...she was getting married. And they were just friends. So there was no harm in having a little fun, right?

Nodding, Nicole’s dimples deepened as her smile grew. “Definitely.” 

Smoothing her hands down Nicole’s arms, Rosita shot her a playful smirk and replied, “I’ll hold you to that, Officer.”

Nicole winked at the bartender, causing a light blush to dust the other woman’s cheeks. With that, she moved away from the Latina and back towards her seat. Nicole passed behind Waverly, hand trailing across her lower back to enable the redhead to squeeze by so she could go sit back down.

The brunette had gone back to drying glasses and seemed to be completely lost in the task until she spoke up.

“What was that about?” Waverly asked casually, an unreadable expression on her face as she continued to dry a glass that looked, suspiciously, already devoid of any trace of water. 

Shrugging, Nicole began to pack up, putting her things into her messenger bag. “Nothing, Rosita just offered to buy me a drink to say thanks for helping her out.”

Waverly just hummed in reply, continuing to dry the same glass, eyes fixed vacantly on the bar in front of Nicole. Dipping her head to catch Waverly’s gaze, Nicole asked, “You good there, Waves?”

The question seemed to snap the brunette out of her stupor. Shaking her head, she tightly smiled at the redhead and replied a little unconvincingly, “Of course I am!”

“Okay…well, I should really get going. I gotta feed Calamity Jane and finish my laundry before my shift tonight.”

Putting the glass and her rag down, Waverly replied, “Still okay if I drop off some coffee after my shift ends?”

“You know I never turn down coffee from a beautiful woman,” Nicole drawled, causing Waverly to roll her eyes and huff out a laugh.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Rosita interrupted, as leaned past Waverly to grab an unopened bottle of whiskey, winking at the redhead as she walked away.

Eyes widening in surprise, Nicole blushed at the forwardness of the bartender. Clearing her throat, Nicole slung her bag over her shoulder and hopped off the stool. “Well, I think that’s my cue. See ya later, Waves?”

Waverly offered only a tight-lipped smile in reply, the same unreadable expression on her face. Turning on her heel, Nicole began to head for the door and had gone approximately five steps before Waverly called out to her.

“Nicole!”

Turning around, the redhead quirked an eyebrow at the brunette. “Yeah, Waves?”

Leaning her arms onto the bar in front of her, Waverly gave her a tentative smile. “Please don’t forget to add my wedding dress to your ‘To-Do’ list, okay?”

Nodding, Nicole gave her a dimpled grin and a two-finger salute, communicating to the brunette that she had it all under control. As she exited the bar and headed for her cruiser, Nicole found herself praying that Waverly didn’t need her to join in on that shopping endeavor.

Because she most definitely wouldn’t survive that.

\--End Chapter Three--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo what do we think?
> 
> Is Champ the literal worst? (correct answer: HELL YES!!)
> 
> Will Rosita be a problem for these two best friends? (correct answer: umm maybe? She definitely comes back, so don't forget about her...)
> 
> Will Nicole and Waverly go shopping for a wedding dress in Chapter 4? (correct answer: you'll have to come back next Wednesday to find out!!)
> 
> Until then! Thanks for reading Earpers, xoxo


	4. Can I Be Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “A few weeks later, Nicole’s prayers had not been answered. 
> 
> It seemed as if she couldn’t catch a break these days, especially when it came to her best friend’s wedding. 
> 
> So that’s how she found herself on her one off-day a week, standing outside a wedding dress shop in the Big City, Waverly excitedly bouncing beside her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Wayhaught Wednesday Earpers!
> 
> So today's chapter takes us into the world of wedding dress shopping! There's some fluff, angst, and fun tension up ahead!!
> 
> The title refers to the song by James Arthur, go give it a listen!! Hope you enjoy the latest chapter, I can't wait to hear what y'all think :)
> 
> xoxo

** Chapter Four: Can I Be Him  **

A few weeks later, Nicole’s prayers had not been answered. 

It seemed as if she couldn’t catch a break these days, especially when it came to her best friend’s wedding.

So that’s how she found herself on her one off-day a week, standing outside a wedding dress shop in the Big City, Waverly excitedly bouncing beside her.

At two minutes to 11 AM, Waverly grabbed onto Nicole’s hand and pulled her eagerly into the shop. “Come on, Nic! It’s time for our appointment!!”

Sighing at the adorableness of her best friend, Nicole let herself be dragged, like the lovesick puppy she was, into the mostly empty shop. 

Once inside, Nicole surveyed the small boutique. She noticed the multitude of dresses that seemed to fill up the place, all with different styles and shapes. She had no idea there were so many shades of white in the world. She saw a smaller section of jumpsuits and suits in one corner, much to her pleasant surprise. Eyes continuing their path, she noticed a few full-length mirrors scattered here and there, separated by huge drapes hanging from the ceiling, and a handful of dressing rooms behind them.

Slowly extricating herself out of Waverly’s tight grasp, Nicole shoved both of her hands deep into jean pockets. She began to rock back and forth on the balls of her feet, trying to calm her racing heart. Nicole knew she was most definitely not ready for what was to come. Waverly in a wedding dress? Impossible to be prepared for that.

But at least that would be it. There was no way this morning could get any worse than that…and then Waverly was excitedly informing her, “You get to try something on too!” 

Eyes bugging out, Nicole whipped her head around and stared, flabbergasted, at her best friend. “Wha-wha-what?” she stammered, unwilling to believe that not only had she been dragged all the way here to watch Waverly try on a million wedding dresses, but also she would have to try something on herself.

“Will you calm down, Nic. I’m not going to make you wear a dress.”

Shoulders sagging in relief, Nicole felt herself relax a little bit. That was until she realized she had no idea what Waverly had picked out for her. Turning to fully face the brunette, she eyed her cautiously and asked, “If you’re not putting me into a dress…what exactly am I wearing?”

Smiling smugly, Waverly folded her arms across her chest and cast a challenging look in Nicole’s direction. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

At the sudden apprehensiveness that flashed across Nicole’s face, Waverly immediately caved, deciding to put the redhead out of her misery. “Fine. Your maid of honor suit is waiting for you in dressing room #2.”

Eyes lighting up like a kid’s on Christmas Day, the redhead grinned, dimples popping in her cheeks. She took off for her dressing room, leaving Waverly standing at the front of the shop, affectionately shaking her head before she herself headed to a dressing room.

\--

Ten minutes later, Nicole heard a knock on the door.

“Everything okay in there, Miss Haught?”

“Yeah, everything’s great! Thank you!” she said, before turning her attention back to her reflection. Nicole let her eyes roam slowly over the outfit Waverly had picked out for her.

True to her word, the brunette had not picked out a dress. Instead, Waverly had chosen a very dapper and totally classy three-piece suit for the redhead. The suit itself was heather grey and made of the softest material. The dress shirt was a light cream in color and played off the grey of the vest and jacket extremely well.

What had surprised her most were the accessories. Waverly had picked out a deep purple, almost plum-colored, bow tie and a boutonniere that was Tiffany blue. Those two colors shouldn’t work together…but somehow they did.

Straightening her bow tie, Nicole gave herself a final glance in the mirror. She had to admit, the suit fit her perfectly. Waverly continued to surprise her and Nicole had to admit, the brunette had incredible taste. Sliding on the black, wing-tipped dress shoes left for her by the door and giving her short red hair one final tousle, she made her way out of the dressing room.

Nicole wasn’t sure where Waverly was, but she wanted to find her and show her the suit. She definitely wanted to make sure she got the stamp of approval from the bride-to-be. After checking a few of the dressing rooms, Nicole popped her head around a curtain leading to one of the full-length mirrors and felt all the air rush out of her lungs. 

Standing, right in front of her, looking like an ethereal goddess, was Waverly Earp. And she was wearing the most beautiful wedding dress Nicole had ever seen.

It had knitted, crisscross floral patterns layered over the sheer mesh. The bell-shaped sleeves were see-through and loose, billowing out past Waverly’s elbows. The dress had an illusion neckline that fell in a plunging V-shape towards the cream band wrapped around her waist. It was elegant and fun and sexy. It was the perfect dress, on the most perfect bride. 

Nicole didn’t think it could get any better…and then Waverly was sliding on a flower crown made up of purple, cream, and Tiffany blue flowers, and the redhead was happily proven wrong.

Nicole drank in the view that was Waverly Earp in that dress, starting from the bottom hem and slowly trailing her eyes up. When she reached her face, Nicole saw the awe and the wonder sparkling in Waverly's hazel eyes as she gazed into the mirror. The brunette was slowly running her hands over the material, turning from side to side to get the full view of herself in the dress. It looked as if she were trying her hardest not to grin too big, but was failing miserably at it because she had the fullest and most luminous smile on her face.

Nicole couldn’t get over how utterly happy she looked. She felt herself melt and fall, if at all possible, even further in love with her best friend.

And then Waverly’s eyes drifted to meet hers through the reflection in the mirror and time seemed to stand still. Nicole’s eyes widened when their gazes locked, sure Waverly could see her guard down and her heart on her sleeve. Waverly wouldn't be able to miss Nicole's love for her shining in her eyes. But, at this moment, Nicole found that she didn’t really care. She thought she would never have another worry in the world because Waverly was looking at her like _that_. 

In the way she sometimes did that sent Nicole’s heart rate skyrocketing, her stomach twisting in knots. In the way that watered the seed of hope in her heart, the one that had been planted a long time ago.

Because within Waverly’s hazel eyes, Nicole was sure that she could just make out the traces of love. But not the friend kind of love.

No. 

The kind of love that awakened the soul. That set a heart on fire. That brought peace to the mind. The kind of love that lasted a lifetime. She was so sure she saw it there, nestled amongst the golden flecks in Waverly's hazel eyes. But then, Waverly’s eyes were drifting away from hers, moving down over her suit and back up, taking in her outfit. She saw her best friend suck in a breath and reconnect their gazes through the reflection in the mirror.

Before she could process the rest of the emotions swirling behind the brunette’s eyes, Waverly was turning around.

Holding her arms out, a small smile on her face, Waverly asked, “Well, Nic. What do you think?”

Nicole stuffed her hands into her pockets to hide the fact that they were trembling, itching to reach out to Waverly, to hold onto the brunette and never let her go, Champ and the wedding be damned.

She let out a low whistle and grinned at her best friend. “Waverly…you...that dress…wow. It’s-it's absolutely perfect on you.” 

A light blush heated Waverly's cheeks, much to Nicole’s amusement. Shaking her head, Waverly gestured to Nicole’s suit. “Well look who's talking? You…” she trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words. 

Nicole saw Waverly eyeing her curiously, the same unreadable expression on her face. Not sure what to make of it, and thinking her silence meant something negative, Nicole looked down at her suit and fidgeted with lapels of her jacket uneasily.

“Does it look bad? I didn’t know if I put the boutonniere on right and the bow tie feels a little loose and you know what I’m just gonna go take it off-”

The rest of Nicole’s nervous rambling was cut off by Waverly moving away from the mirror, approaching her with sure steps. Stepping close to the redhead, Waverly tilted her head up to connect their gazes.

“You look beautiful, Nic,” she whispered softly. 

Now it was Nicole’s turn to blush and duck her head. She gave herself a moment to bask in the warmth that spread through her at Waverly calling her beautiful...before she lightened the mood in an effort to maintain some semblance of calm and control on her feelings.

“Yeah, well, my best friend has great taste in suits apparently, so I can’t take all the credit.”

Nicole was rewarded with some breathy laughter from the brunette and she felt the tension in the air begin to fade. Eyes flicking down to the dress and back up to meet Waverly's gaze, Nicole couldn’t help but ask, “So…is this the one, Waves?”

Waverly backed up and spun around in a circle, the dress fanning out around her, laughing freely as she twirled. With a radiant smile, she came to a stop and replied, “Yeah, I think it is!”

Enamored with her reaction, Nicole grinned and ventured a guess. “It was the first one you tried on, wasn’t it?”

Brow furrowing, Waverly tilted her head to the side in surprise and confusion. “How-how’d you know?” 

With a casual shrug, Nicole said, “Because only you, Waverly Earp, would find the perfect dress on the first try.”

Waverly blinked at her, the unreadable expression back on her face as she replied softly, “You know me so well.”

Nicole tried to hide the instant pain that threatened to flash across her face at hearing Waverly say that. Because it was true, Nicole knew her better than she knew anyone, better than she knew herself. She knew when Waverly was sad or disappointed. When she was hungry and when she was tired. When she needed space or a hug. When she was in desperate need of a bonus blanket on top of the four she already had. Nicole _knew_ her. Better than Champ flipping Hardy did.

Moving those thoughts from her mind, Nicole shot Waverly a tight smile before clearing her throat. She took a few steps back towards the dressing rooms and gestured over her shoulder with her thumb. “I’m gonna go change out of this monkey suit.”

“Wait!” the brunette said, stopping Nicole from leaving. Sheepishly, Waverly ducked her head and looked up at the redhead through her lashes. “Would you unzip me first?” 

The redhead visibly choked on air at the question. She tried to play off by coughing and turning her head but was sure Waverly could see right through her, as she was chuckling softly. 

“Relax, Nic! I just need a little help with the zipper, I can do the rest on my own.” 

Nodding feebly in response, Nicole kept her eyes on her feet as she followed the brunette towards her dressing room, trying to hide the flush creeping up her neck. She joined Waverly in her dressing room and spun to close the door behind them. Turning back around, she didn’t dare look at their reflections in the mirror, knowing Waverly’s gaze was on her.

Swallowing thickly, Nicole attempted to keep her emotionless mask intact. With unsteady hands, she reached up and undid the small hook at the top of the zipper. She then slowly lowered the small piece of metal, exposing more and more tanned skin with the movement. But Nicole kept her eyes on the zipper, not letting her concentration waver. Stopping mid-way down her back, Nicole flicked her gaze up to Waverly’s and shot her a close-mouthed smile.

“Thank you,” the brunette whispered breathlessly.

Not letting herself dwell on the intimacy of the situation, Nicole beat a hasty retreat, throwing a ‘you're welcome’ over her shoulder as she left the dressing room. Closing the door soundly behind her, Nicole sucked in a lungful of air.

_Fuck. This woman is going to be the death of me._

Shaking her head, Nicole headed back to her own dressing room, undoing her bowtie with unsteady hands as she walked.

Every single damn day, she thought that this could never get any harder, any more difficult for her. But every single damn day, she was proven wrong.

As she began to shed her maid of honor suit, Nicole made two decisions.

One, she would stop challenging the universe and jinxing it, because there was no way she could take much more of this. And two, she needed to take a step back from all of this. To protect her heart and preserve her sanity, she needed to put some space between her and Waverly.

That second decision put a bad taste in her mouth, made her heart tighten painfully in her chest.

But she knew, despite her reservations, that it was the right one.

\--End Chapter Four--

 

In case anyone was curious, this is the suit combination I found for Nicole but I COULD NOT FIGURE OUT HOW TO EDIT OUT THAT DANG BEARD AND IM SALTY ABOUT IT.SO JUST IGNORE IT PLEASE.

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/327214729145826831/

 

And for those who haven't seen Waverly's dress in a hot minute, here it is! Featured in the cutest pic ever AM I RIGHT?! And then I added the flower crown I described :)

 

Sources of these photos:

-Wedding dress: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/677088125200788106/

-Flower Crown: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/473792823280022223/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought I would include those pics for those of us who don't have the image of Waverly Earp in a wedding dress burning into our minds :)
> 
> Anyways, this chapter was super fun and goodness the tension and the charged air between them AH! But in the end, we have Nicole at her breaking point...leading to her taking a step back for a bit. The next chapter will deal with the aftermath of their trip to the Big City and also get us started with the Bachelorette party shenanigans!!
> 
> Chapter 5 will be up on Saturday :)
> 
> Until then, Earpers! xoxo


	5. The Black and White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "They were now in the home stretch.
> 
> It was less than a month until the big day and Nicole was a complete and total wreck. Over the past two months, she had distanced herself a bit from Waverly after that day in the city, needing some space and some time. 
> 
> She had cut back on pizza and movie nights and hadn’t made an extra effort to swing by the Historical Society or Shorty’s."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Saturday Earpers!
> 
> It's time for the bachelorette party!! There's some conflict, some jealousy, and some Wynhaught BROTP!
> 
> This chapter and the next both cover the events of the bachelorette party. Buckle up, because it gets crazy!!
> 
> Hope y'all like it, xoxo

** Chapter Five: The Black and White**

They were now in the home stretch.

It was less than a month until the big day and Nicole was a complete and total wreck. Over the past two months, she had distanced herself a bit from Waverly after that day in the city, needing some space and some time.

She had cut back on pizza and movie nights and hadn’t made an extra effort to swing by the Historical Society or _Shorty’s_.

Their interactions were tense and extremely brief. Their rare, in-person conversations were stilted and forced. 

Waverly had to know something was up. They went from being completely inseparable to barely seeing each other at all. Nicole had gone from bending over backward for her to barely even acknowledging her. But for some reason, Waverly had chosen not to press it, seeming to buy the numerous excuses she gave. And if the light usually present in her eyes had dimmed, if her usually radiant smiles seemed to lack their typical sunshine, well Nicole wasn't exactly around to notice.

But despite the fact that Nicole still wasn’t over that wedding dress experience and that she and Waverly were on shaky-ish terms at best, there was no way she was getting out of the events of tonight.

It was Waverly’s bachelorette party after all.

Nicole had been in charge of planning it, of course. She had invited some of their friends out for a night in the Big City, offering quite chivalrously to be the Designated Driver. They ended up hitting so many bars and nightclubs that Nicole had a hard time keeping track of how many places they actually stopped at, despite being completely sober.

Surrounded by a handful of other girls, it was easy for Nicole to keep her distance from Waverly. She was far too busy making sure the bridal party stuck together and didn't lose a member to worry about the current frosty state of her and Waverly's friendship. But still, Nicole had kept a watchful eye on Waverly all night, making sure she was safe, making sure she was having fun. A few times she had caught Waverly already staring over at her, leading to a few moments of loaded eye contact, which Nicole was always first to break.

But still, they didn't exactly talk to each other. By the time they were heading back, she and Waverly had exchanged no more than a handful of words, mostly about the drive and the bars they were going to next.

Because Nicole made good time driving back to Purgatory, and they had started out early enough in the evening, the bridal party decided it wasn't quite ready for their night of drinking and debauchery to end. So, they directed a reluctant Nicole to _Shorty's._

_Wonderful._

After parking, everyone slowly climbed out of the black Suburban Nicole had borrowed from Dolls. He had been a little hesitant to lend it to them at first, but one pout from Waverly, and he had folded like a pile of cards. Nicole kinda knew what that felt like, having been on the receiving end of those irresistible pouts on numerous occasions.

The redhead got out of the driver's seat quickly and rushed to the front door to hold it open, smiling at Chrissy, Stephanie, Mercedes, and Beth as each one of them passed her, all heading straight for the bar. A soft hand on her arm brought her attention back around to the final, but most important, member of the bridal party. Waverly was at her elbow, looking up at her with rosy cheeks and slightly glassy eyes. But the deep frown on her face looked extremely out of place on this night of merriment, causing Nicole’s brow to furrow in concern.

Even if she had taken a giant step back, Nicole couldn't exactly turn off her feelings or her need to make sure her best friend was alright. Despite everything, her first priority would always be Waverly.

“You alright?”

“Are you…are you mad at me?” Waverly asked quietly, eyes dropping to the pavement.

Shaking her head in bewilderment, Nicole let the door close, leaving the two of them alone on the curb outside, Waverly’s hand still on her arm.

“No, of course not. What makes you think that?” the redhead asked, knowing full well that Waverly was probably seconds from drunkenly voicing her thoughts about what had been going on between them. Sober Waverly might have been seemingly content to pretend things were fine, but it seemed as if drunk Waverly was not.

“It’s just…these past few months, you’ve seemed…angry with me for some reason. And I don’t know what I did wrong,” Waverly whimpered, face scrunching up as she blinked back tears. 

“Oh, Waves,” Nicole whispered, reaching out and pulling the smaller woman towards her. Tucking Waverly’s head under her chin, Nicole held her best friend tightly to her chest. After a beat, she felt Waverly’s arms wind slowly around her waist and cling to her, holding onto her as if her life depended on it. Hot tears hit her T-shirt and she felt the ferocity of Waverly’s sobs shake her small frame.

The instantaneous guilt Nicole felt was all consuming. Knowing that she was the cause of these tears…of this pain…well, it just about killed her. She had never meant to hurt Waverly. She had just wanted some space after the whole 'charged eye contact with her best friend while she stood in a wedding dress' thing. That day had brought to the surface a lot of what she tried her hardest to keep buried. It had also caused a small flicker of hope to bloom in her chest, one that she had to extinguish in the name of self-preservation.

She couldn’t go on pretending that their moment in the mirror meant anything. Because it hadn’t. Best friends complimented each other and looked at each other like that...at least, that’s what Nicole had to tell herself. But in the process of protecting her heart, she had unknowingly caused her best friend pain. She had done the one thing she never wanted to do. She had become no better than _him_.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m not mad at you, Waves. I could never be mad at you. Shhh,” Nicole cooed, slowly rocking them back and forth, soothingly rubbing circles onto the brunette’s back.

After a few minutes, Waverly’s sobs quieted and her breathing returned to normal. Slowly disentangling herself, Nicole held the brunette at arm’s length. When watery hazel eyes rose to meet hers, she shot Waverly a hesitant smile. “I'm not mad at you, Waves. Like I said, I don't think I'm exactly capable of it. So...are we good?”

Nodding, Waverly sniffled and wiped her nose with the sleeve of her sweater. “Yeah, we’re good. So long as you don’t ghost me for two months again,” she tried to joke, attempting for a lighthearted comment but falling flat, her voice was still thick with tears. 

Flinching, Nicole let her arms drop to her sides, a deep sigh escaping her lips. She knew she wouldn’t be able to come completely clean about it right now, but Waverly deserved some sort of an explanation. So Nicole started to explain, getting pretty damn close to the truth of it all. “Waves…I’m really sorry about how I've been these past few months. I just…I got scared, you know? Because this is all winding down and happening so fast and I-I-I don’t want to lose you.”

Waverly shot her a perplexed look and reached out to grab onto the other woman. She wrapped one of her hands loosely around Nicole’s bicep, stroking the soft material of her black cotton shirt. “You’re not going to lose me, Nic. Don’t you get it? This-” she gestured between them with her free hand, a small smile tugging at her lips, “-is a forever kinda thing.” 

Nicole melted, feeling an incredible sense of relief at Waverly's words. And maybe it was because they were finally talking again, but Nicole was starting to feel like she was slowly moving past the wedding dress thing, like the armor around her heart was rebuilding once more. The redhead pulled Waverly in for one final hug, one final whispered apology, before releasing her. Swiping her thumbs under Waverly’s eyes, she dried the last of the tears she had caused.

“Alright, you ready to go in and enjoy the rest of your bachelorette party?”

And just like that the light was back in those hazel eyes, that easy smile back on her face. “Hell yes! But Nic, would you _please_ relax and have a few drinks? There’s no need to be the DD any more!”

Nicole sighed in defeat. Honestly, Waverly could have asked her to lasso the moon and she would have done everything in her power to deliver it. So she found herself agreeing and being dragged to the bar by the brunette, who looked as if the weight of the world had been lifted off of her shoulders. 

\--

At some point, Wynonna came barreling through the front doors, much to the surprise of the redhead.

Nicole had invited her to the initial party, but the elder Earp had declined, citing something about Doc, and Dolls, and her gun. So she hadn’t expected to see her tonight.

From her position in the back booth, she could see Wynonna saunter up to the bar and order a drink, all while keeping an eye on her baby sister and her friends. Waverly seemed to immediately notice Wynonna’s presence because she jumped off the dance floor and bounded up to the bar. With drunken movements, she threw her arms around her sister, who instantly stiffened up at the embrace. But after a moment, she relaxed and returned the hug with one arm, patting her sister on the back.

The two pulled away from each other and seemed to chat for a few seconds, heads bowed together at the bar. And then Nicole saw Waverly nodding in her direction, a subdued expression on her face. Wynonna whipped her head around and looked at the redhead over her shoulder. Nicole shifted uneasily under their stares before awkwardly waving at the two Earp sisters, getting identical nods from them in response.

After a moment longer of looking over at them, Nicole dropped her gaze to the beer bottle in her hands, and let herself get lost in thought again.

Even though she and Waverly had talked and cleared the air earlier, and she was feeling much lighter than she had for the past few months, Nicole still couldn’t shake this sense of impending _doom_. Which sounded totally dramatic, but she was beyond the point of caring.

Every day, she watched the minutes and hours tick by, and with each passing moment, she knew the wedding was getting that much closer. And now, in the blink of an eye, they were less than a month away from the big day. It made Nicole’s insides to get all twisted up, made her heart clench painfully in her chest. D-Day, as she so affectionately called it, was fast approaching and she was as unprepared for it as she was 7 months ago.

An uncharacteristically sympathetic voice interrupted her musings.

“Who died?”

At the sound of Wynonna’s voice, Nicole lifted her gaze, her brown eyes meeting the concerned ones of her best friend’s older sister. Rolling her eyes, Nicole replied, “Nobody, Wynonna.”

Sliding into the booth opposite the redhead without invitation, Wynonna gestured vaguely in Nicole’s direction. “Tell that to your face, Red. You look like someone just killed your cat AND dropped its mangled body on your doorstep.” 

Disturbed by the images her words evoked, Nicole’s face scrunched up. “Really, dude? Did you just come over here to metaphorically mess with my cat?”

Snorting, the older brunette muttered under her breath, “So many pussy jokes, so little time.” 

Nicole shot her a deadpan look in response, extremely unamused by the comment. Wynonna held her hands up in mock-surrender and then softened, dropping the cold exterior she usually put out for the rest of the world.

“Look, Haught...I came over here because Waverly asked me to check on you. She said you guys had a fight or something and that everything was fine now, but she's still worried. So are you-I mean, are you okay?”

Maybe the alcohol had loosened her lips a little bit, or maybe she just felt like finally talking about it with someone, because the redhead replied in a much more sarcastically candid manner than she normally would have.

“I’m great Wynonna, just fucking peachy,” Nicole muttered, letting the bitterness that had been growing within her for the past 7 months color her words.

Raising her brow at the tone, Wynonna shot back, “Whoa there, Haughtstuff. That's some bitter tea you're drinking. You know...you might have everyone else around here fooled, but I can see right through your little charade.”

Scoffing, Nicole brought the beer to her lips, draining the rest of the amber liquid from the bottle. “Sure you can, Wynonna. Tell me oh great 'demon detective’, what is it that you see?”

After a beat of silence, Wynonna replied softly, “I see someone who's pretending to be happy about something that is absolutely killing her inside.”

Nicole immediately stilled, narrowing her eyes. She had to redirect, to convince Wynonna how far she was from the reality of the situation. But the truth of it was, she had hit the nail right on the head. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

By the look on Wynona’s face, her attempt at a defense left much to be desired. So Nicole tried once more, really saying the words with as much conviction as she could muster. “I’m happy for her, Wynonna. Really, I am. And as long as this is what she really wants, as long as she’s truly happy with him…then I’m fine.”

Wynonna’s eyes widened in surprise and a look of understanding made its way across her face. “Good, God. You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

Clenching her jaw, Nicole dropped her gaze and started picked at the label on her empty bottle. She fleetingly flirted with the idea of denying it. But what good would that do? Wynonna seemed to be able to read her like a book. So she decided to bite the bullet and face this dumpster fire head-on. 

Looking up at the brunette, Nicole chuckled humorlessly. “I-well, yeah. Why wouldn’t I be? She’s…" she trailed off. 

Nicole let her gaze drift away from the elder Earp, eyes immediately finding Waverly. She was still in the middle of the dance floor, somehow still having energy despite their exhaustive tour of the Big City’s bars and nightclubs. Nicole got lost in watching the brunette jump around, hands in the air, the picture of carefree.

She couldn't get over how happy, how beautiful she looked, and she felt a single word bubble up in her chest, one she whispered reverently into the air between them. "...extraordinary.”

Wynonna raised a brow at the word choice and then followed Nicole’s eye line, seeing the aim of her gaze was her little sister. Returning her eyes to the redhead, she noticed Nicole's face soften as she watched Waverly, and suddenly, it was like she was seeing Nicole, the real one, for the first time.

“How long?”

The question seemed to snap Nicole out of her daydream and suddenly the light Wynonna had noticed in Nicole's eyes was extinguished. Her brown eyes drifted over to meet the elder Earp's, and they were filled with sadness, with longing.

“It-it’s always been her. From the very beginning,” Nicole admitted.

At her words, she saw an emotion flash across Wynonna’s face that she had expected, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.

“I don’t want your pity, Wynonna.”

Waving a dismissive hand in the air, the brunette fixed Nicole with a pointed look. “Tough shit, because you’ve got it. This is seriously fucked up, Haught. Why-”

But Nicole was quick to interrupt her, answering her almost spoken question. “Why would I go through this? Because…” the redhead broke off, eyes lowering to the table, “I love her too much to say no to her. She could have asked me for anything, _anything_ Wynonna, and I would have done my very best to give it to her.” 

Idly tracing patterns on the wooden table top, Nicole added, “That, or maybe I’ve just got a sick masochistic streak or something.”

The elder Earp guffawed, shaking her head before replying, “Hey, that’s my department, Haughtshot. Get your own.”

Nicole’s lip quirked up in a half smile at the comment, much to the brunette's relief.

Studying the woman in front of her, Wynonna took a moment to gather her thoughts. 

She really should have seen this coming, what with all the heart eyes Nicole constantly had for her sister. And while what Nicole was doing was noble in the sickest sense of the word, it was also pure torture. If she just came clean with Waverly, maybe it would solve some things. Maybe it would open Waverly's eyes to what was standing right in front of her, too.

Because, although she had a reputation for being completely oblivious, Wynonna was anything but.

She had noticed immediately how much her sister cared for her best friend, from the beginning. And over the next few years, Wynonna realized their relationship ran deeper than just friendship. But Waverly had never wised up and kicked stupid Champ to the curb long enough to explore that. 

Wynonna had the growing suspicion that her sister felt something for the redhead, but just didn't quite know it yet, maybe didn't even realize it. This was confirmed over these past few months when Waverly and Nicole weren’t exactly on the best of terms. Her sister had stomped and sulked around for eight whole weeks. It was as if something had permanently crawled up her ass and _died._  In Wynonna's opinion, you don't act like that over just a  _friend_.

And tonight, when Waverly was explaining that she and Nicole were fine again, she had this look in her eyes. Like she had realized how much she truly needed the redhead, and was terrified out of her mind about that. So Wynonna hadn’t pushed, instead promising her sister that she would make sure Nicole was really okay.

And here they were.

“Why haven’t you said anything to her?”

Nicole sighed, looking up at the brunette despondently. “Wynonna…my feelings don’t matter here. All I want, more than anything, is for her to be happy. And look at her…” Nicole gestured at the dance floor, where Waverly was spinning around to some Kacey Musgraves song, laughing freely. “She hasn’t stopped smiling since... _it_ happened. Clearly, I’m not meant to be the one who makes her happy.”

Wynonna just shook her head, thinking about how wrong Nicole truly was. There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Champ the Chump was the reason Waverly was so happy. Wynonna had the sneaking suspicion it had more to do with the best friend than the fiancée. But the redhead was beyond the point of reason and logic, she was so deeply convinced and entrenched in this version of reality she wouldn’t even consider the possibility of it working out any other way. So Wynonna bowed out not-so-gracefully.

“You fucking martyr.”

Nicole’s jaw tightened and her nostrils flared in anger, brown eyes narrowing at her.

“Whoa there, Haught. Aim that death glare somewhere else.” 

But Nicole didn’t back down, the fire still burning in her eyes as her clenched fists shook on top of the table. _How dare Wynonna judge me for my actions, she has no right-_

The redhead's inner rant was cut off by some uncharacteristically caring words from the elder Earp. “Look...all I’m saying is, you deserve to be happy too.”

Nicole immediately deflated, the fight rushing out of her at Wynonna's soft tone, at her kind words. “Yeah…maybe someday. Just…not today.” Offering the older brunette a grateful half-smile, she continued, “And thanks Wynonna, I appreciate all of this. But please _please_ don’t say anything to her, okay? Waverly’s my best friend and if I lost her…”

“It would break you,” Wynonna supplied, easily reading the fear in Nicole’s eyes.

The redhead nodded solemnly, leaning back in the booth, eyes sliding shut in defeat.

“Well shit,” Wynonna huffed, “we need something stronger than this! Hey, Rosita!”

At the name, Nicole’s eyes shot open. She hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to the bartender much since that one afternoon, all those months ago. Her brown eyes tracked the approaching Latina, a small smile growing on her face as Rosita reached their table.

“Could you bring us shot glasses and some whiskey?” Wynonna asked, trying to catch Rosita’s eye. But it seemed like the bartender was perfectly happy to continue to ignore her and keep eye-fucking the redhead. Nicole squirmed a bit under the gaze but didn’t look too uncomfortable, offering the Latina a hesitant dimpled grin.

Clearing her throat dramatically, both women looked over at her. Smiling smugly, Wynonna repeated herself, “How about some whiskey for my friend here, Rosita?”

“Sure thing, Wynonna. Anything for your _friend_ ,” Rosita replied, winking at Nicole before sashaying away.

Turning her attention fully onto the redhead, Wynonna raised her brow at Nicole. “The fuck was that?”

Shrugging, Nicole made a noncommittal sound. “She asked me to get a drink with her a few months ago but I’ve been…busy.”

“Yeah, real busy pining over your best friend while simultaneously planning her wedding,” Wynonna replied, saccharin tone dripping with sarcasm.

Nicole fixed her with a withering glare, getting only a toothy smile in response. Their stare-off was interrupted by Rosita returning with a tray of 4 shot glasses...and an entire bottle of whiskey.

 _Oh, boy. It was going to be a long night,_ Nicole thought.

\--End Chapter Five--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo what do we think?
> 
> Will Rosita cause some problems for Waverly and Nicole?
> 
> Will we get to see jealous Waverly in the next chapter?
> 
> Come back Wednesday to find out :)
> 
> xoxo


	6. Dancing On My Own

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Waverly was panting, thoroughly exhausted from her hours spent on the dance floor.
> 
> Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she drifted away from her small group towards the bar, needing some water, like yesterday.
> 
> But before she could flag Rosita down, the Latina was loading up a tray and heading towards a booth in the back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Earpers!!
> 
> I missed y'all so much and I have never been happier to wake up on a Wednesday! I have to publish a bit earlier in the day today (which I am sure everyone will be soooo mad about) because I've got some graduation/move out stuff to take care of!
> 
> So anyways, back to the good stuff...
> 
> As promised, today's chapter dives into Waverly's jealousy! We also see more of Rosita and Nicole interacting...which was hard to write since I am a die hard Wayhaught fan. But it's a necessary step in the story.
> 
> The chapter title refers to the song by Calum Scott. It's super good so go give it a listen!!
> 
> So I hope y'all don't get too mad about where this goes! I have promised a happy ending and I will deliver it!
> 
> xoxo

** Chapter Six: Dancing On My Own **

Waverly was panting, thoroughly exhausted from her hours spent on the dance floor.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she drifted away from her small group towards the bar, needing some water, like yesterday.

But before she could flag Rosita down, the Latina was loading up a tray, snagging a bottle of whiskey, and heading towards a booth in the back.

Following the retreating form of the bartender, Waverly saw her approach the table that Nicole and her sister were sitting at. Rosita set the tray and bottle down and moved to stand next to Nicole, leaning into the redhead’s space. Waverly's curiosity was piqued and for some unknown reason, she felt compelled to go over there. Something about seeing Rosita talking with Nicole like that...well it made her want to go interrupt them...

So that’s what she did.

“What’s this?” Waverly asked, looking between Nicole and Rosita, ignoring the confusion on Nicole’s face at her clipped tone.

Before either one of them could respond, Wynonna was answering, while simultaneously pouring whiskey into the four shot glasses on the table, “Just a little sister of the bride and maid of honor bonding! Nothing to worry about Babygirl.”

Eying her sister and then Nicole warily, she opened her mouth to reply...but felt the words die in her throat as she saw Nicole pick up and subsequently toss back each of the four shots Wynonna had just poured.

“Hey! Two of those were for me!” Wynonna complained, earning her an annoyed eye roll from Nicole.

Rosita raised her brow at the woman seated next to her. “Damn, Stud. I didn’t know you could drink like that,” she flirted, resting her hand on Nicole’s shoulder and letting her fingers trail across the soft material of the redhead's T-shirt.

“She. Can’t.” Waverly replied forcefully, concern shining in her hazel eyes as she looked at Nicole. 

“It’s true, ima total lightweight. These are gonna hit me like a freight train pretty soon here,” Nicole added, already feeling a little floaty from the amount of whiskey beginning to swirl around in her system.

“Could you get us a few glasses of water, Rosie?” Waverly asked the bartender, her desire for the Latina to retreat behind the bar and get as far away from her best friend as possible, giving her words an angry, hard edge.

Nodding, Rosita backed away, eyeing Waverly strangely. “Sure thing, Waves. I’ll send some over.”

But Waverly didn’t reply, didn't spare Rosita a second glance. Her only focus, her only concern was Nicole. Moving towards her best friend, she crouched down to be near eye-level for Nicole.

“Nic?”

Brown eyes, that were starting to get a little unfocused, met her own. As Waverly stared into them, she saw the same pain swirling within them that she had noticed and seen flashes of these past few months. The same pain that confused the hell out of her. The same pain she was too scared to ask about.

Nicole's noticeably deeper voice brought her out of her thoughts.

“Hey, Waves.” 

“Are you-are you okay?”

“Psh ’m all good, just had the burnin’ desire to get suuuper drunk, suuuper quick,” Nicole replied, tilting her head to lean against the wall behind the booth. 

Waverly eyed her in disbelief, knowing full well that Nicole Haught hated going anywhere past tipsy. She knew that Nicole absolutely loathed feeling out of control and rarely if ever had more than a few beers.

“Hey, aren' you the one who tol’ me to relax and ‘ave fun? Sooo that’s what ’m doin’,” Nicole added a little slurrily. 

At Waverly’s obvious hesitation, Nicole mustered up a convincing smile, dimples on full display, and shooed the brunette away. “Waves, go bac' out there an’ enjoy the res' of your bachel'rette party, ya ‘nly get one o' these!”

With one final pointed look at the redhead, Waverly rose to her feet. “Alright...well come find me if you need anything. And Wynonna?” 

The elder Earp jumped at the sound of her name. She had been trying to surreptitiously chug whiskey from the bottle while Nicole and Waverly had their little moment. But at her sudden inclusion into the conversation, Wynonna forcefully removed the bottle from her lips and accidentally spilled some of the alcohol. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, the older brunette responded, “‘Sup, Babygirl?” 

“Make sure Nic doesn’t do anything stupid, okay?” 

Receiving only a dramatic thumbs-up in reply from her sister, Waverly shot one final concerned look at Nicole and then spun on her heel and headed back onto the dance floor, trying to push the worries from her mind for the time being. 

Once Waverly’s back was turned, Nicole’s smile fell from her face and she began to pour out two more shots.

“Whoa there, slow down Haughtstuff. We don’t want you comatose.”

Grumbling, Nicole unsteadily slid them over towards Wynonna, whiskey sloshing over the sides of the glasses. Crossing her arms over her chest, Nicole let her eyes wander over to where Waverly had ended up. Seeing her slid onto a stool next to Chrissy, Nicole let out a despondent sigh and slowly lowered her forehead to the table, willing the world around her to stop spinning. 

\--

“I was about to cash in my drink with you, but it looks like you’ve had a few too many tonight.”

Lifting her forehead up from the sticky wood, Nicole saw Rosita standing next to her lonely booth, Wynonna having left her a few moments ago to head to the bathroom.

“Aww Rosie, I’m goooood.”

Eyebrows rising in amusement, Rosita replied, “Sure you are, Stud. How about some water?”

It was then that Nicole noticed the two cups in Rosita’s hands. Nodding her head furiously, Nicole grabbed both glasses and in a matter of seconds, drained them dry. Sighing deeply in relief, Nicole felt some of her haze lift as the water chased away the whiskey that had replaced the blood in her veins at this point.

Brown eyes lifting back up to look at Rosita, Nicole made a bold, and definitely drunk, decision.

“Alrigh', no more alcohol. But how ‘bout a dance inste’d?” 

Rosita’s eyes lit up at the suggestion, holding out her hand for the redhead. Nicole slid her hand easily into the Latina’s, noticing instantly how warm her hand was. 

The pair made their way onto the somewhat crowded dance floor and elbowed their way to the far corner. Now in a somewhat secluded area of the dance floor, Nicole immediately felt Rosita press her back against her front. The Latina moved their intertwined fingers to rest against her hip, while her other hand reached back and tangled in Nicole’s short hair. Rosita began to move against her sensually, following the pulsing beat of the music, and Nicole was like putty in her hands, letting her set the pace.

The redhead couldn’t deny that the woman in her arms was beautiful. She was funny and she was sweet. She could pour a mean drink, had an extremely sharp wit and apparently was a phenomenal dancer.

 _But she wasn’t Waverly._  

While that thought might have stopped Nicole in the past, it wasn’t going to stop her tonight. Waverly had told her to let loose, to have a little fun. And this was how she was going to do it.

She was a grown ass woman with needs. She wanted to feel desired. She wanted to be someone’s first choice for once. So...she let her free hand slowly trail down the side of Rosita’s body, starting at her ribs and moving down to her hip, and back up again, repeating the intimate motion for the remainder of the song.

As the song ended and another started, Rosita suddenly flipped around and pressed their fronts together, eliciting a small gasp from the redhead. She moved her arms to loop around Nicole’s neck, bringing them even closer together. Nicole instinctively wrapped her arms around the Latina, pressing her palms against Rosita’s lower back. She kept her eyes closed and pressed their foreheads together, moving their bodies to the beat of the music. 

After a few moments, she felt more than heard Rosita’s words.

“So you gonna tell me why you look so broken all the time, Stud? Or do I have to guess?”

Eyes blinking open, Nicole tried to fight through her alcohol-induced haze, attempting to focus on the woman in front of her. “I-I really don’ wanna talk abou' it. Tonigh', I jus' wanna forget.”

Leaning back slightly, Rosita smirked up at her. “I think I can help with that.”

And then Rosita was surging forward, crashing their lips together in a heated kiss. The rational part of Nicole’s mind was telling her to stop, that it wasn’t fair to start anything or let anything happen when her heart belonged to someone else. Pulling back, Nicole shook her head and managed to say, “Rosita, I-”

But the Latina silenced her protests with another kiss, pulling back to reply, “I know, Nicole. Trust me, I can see it in your eyes. But maybe, just for tonight, you can let someone care about you. Put  _you_ first for once.” 

Swallowing thickly, Nicole shot the woman in her arms a shy smile and then leaned in to reconnect their lips, kissing Rosita soundly. Mouths moved against each other and hands wandered as the two women got lost in each other, in the middle of the dance floor. To them, they felt as if they were in a world of their own, away from prying eyes.

But they weren’t. 

They were being watched by a pair of hazel eyes belonging to Waverly Earp.

\--

When Waverly had left Nicole and her sister at the table earlier, she hadn’t been able to shake this sinking feeling in her gut. She just _knew_ that something was up with Nicole and as much as she was trying to enjoy the night...well she just couldn’t because of that _feeling_.

So while she might have wandered over to the bar and sat down next to Chrissy, she would always find her gaze drifting back to the booth every so often...just to make sure that Nicole was okay.

Right now, her hazel eyes flitted back over there and she saw Wynonna getting up and heading towards the bathroom, leaving Nicole alone. Feeling a bit better that Nicole was still over there and seemed to have no desire to throw back any more shots, Waverly relaxed a bit.

Turning back around to face the bar, she bumped shoulders with Chrissy and easily fell back into the joking banter with her friend. She got so lost in the conversation that she didn’t notice Nicole get up with Rosita.

So when she turned around to find Nicole again…she didn’t see her at the booth. Alarmed, she whipped her head around, scanning the bar for her best friend.

And then her gaze landed on Nicole and Rosita on the dance floor. Hands on each other’s bodies, lips locked together. Nicole’s head was tilted down and Rosita’s tongue was….

Waverly wanted to look away. She really did. But something inside of her wouldn’t let her. Chrissy had waltzed off to dance with some guy named Perry but in all honesty, Waverly hadn’t even noticed.

All she saw was Nicole. And Rosita. Like _that._

Waverly couldn’t deny that it was…interesting for some reason, in some way. The two were intensely making out, clearly very into what they were doing and oddly...it made her stomach churn, left a bad taste in her mouth. But she still couldn’t look away.

She was intrigued by how softly Nicole was holding the bartender like she was the most precious thing in the world. Like maybe if she held on too tightly, Rosita would shatter. 

Even when Rosita pulled away and bit Nicole’s lip, even when Nicole went back in for more, her tongue clearly joining in, it was still a delicately choreographed dance. It wasn’t aggressive or domineering the way Nicole buried her hands into Rosita’s hair or the way Rosita’s hands were gripping the redhead’s waist…

God, she had to stop watching! 

The brunette felt warmth in her cheeks and a flush creep up her neck at having been caught up staring at the two women. Waverly pulled her eyes away from the dance floor and back to the shot she had been about to take before she had gotten distracted. She downed the whiskey in the glass quickly, the burning sensation traveling down her throat. But she welcomed it, letting it join in with the burning sensation that currently sat behind her eyes, caused by the _thing_ she just watched unfold on the dance floor. 

Letting her mind wander for a moment, she thought about how Champ never held her like that. He was always….gripping, or pulling, or squeezing at something. Effectively manhandling her. But he never just _held_ her. He never...

Shaking those thoughts from her mind, Waverly knew she shouldn't start to go down that road. She shouldn't be thinking about her fiancée like that. So she signaled for another shot, hoping adding more alcohol to the evening would help.

As she waited, she felt her gaze returning again to the pair on the dance floor, unable, and maybe a tad unwilling, to stay away. Not surprisingly, Nicole and Rosita were still going at it, but this time…

She shot up from her seat when she saw Rosita’s hands slide down Nicole’s back and firmly settle on her ass.

_Oh, fuck no._

Propelled by some seemingly unknown force, Waverly was weaving through the throngs of people, aimed for the pair, with every intention of pulling them apart. The brunette was a few feet away from them when her sister stepped into her line of vision.

“Whoa, Babygirl, where’s the fire?”

In an effort to look past her sister, Waverly moved her head from side to side and got up on her tippy-toes, trying to keep an eye on Nicole and Rosita.

“Who we lookin' at?” Wynonna asked, turning her body to see what had her baby sister so rattled. Understanding washed over her as she saw Rosita and Nicole tangled up on the dance floor. 

“Ahh, looks like Boobs McSeltzer and Officer Haught are getting _acquainted_ with each other.”

For that comment, Wynonna got a hard smack to her shoulder courtesy of one extremely angry Waverly. Rubbing at the tender area, the elder Earp complained, “Jeez, Babygirl, who pissed in your Captain Crunch this morning?”

Scoffing, Waverly crossed her arms. “I don’t-no one ‘Nonna. I’m fine.”

“Oh yeah? Then why does it look like you’re ready to commit murder and ask me to help hide the body?”

Gesturing at the pair, Waverly replied, “Well I just-I mean, look at them? Like why does Rosita have to be so-”

“Into it?” Wynonna smirked, watching her baby sister process the clearly jealous emotions she was experiencing.

“No, I just mean-I, I…”

“Babygirl, I’m gonna stop you right there. You may be the smartest person on this entire planet, but right now I feel the need to smack some goddamn sense into you.”

Worrying her bottom lip, Waverly raised her brow, silently asking Wynonna to continue. 

“Waverly, you’re clearly jealous.”

Recoiling at the word, Waverly got very defensive, very fast. “Jealous?” she asked incredulously. 

At Wynonna’s ‘no shit, Sherlock’ expression, Waverly continued her defense, knowing her sister had to be totally off base. “There’s no way I’m jealous because that would mean-”

Wynonna waggled her eyebrows, smirk growing on her face as she realized Waverly was about to have it all click, have all the puzzle pieces come together…but before that magical ‘lightbulb’ moment, two meaty arms were wrapping around Waverly’s waist, picking her up off the ground and swinging her around in a wide circle.

“Hey! Hands off my sister, nine seconds!” Wynonna yelled.

Putting Waverly down, Champ shot a bored look at the elder Earp while keeping his arms wrapped tightly around the brunette’s middle.

“It was eight seconds, loser,” he scoffed, nuzzling the side of Waverly’s face.

Wynonna just rolled her eyes before checking in with her sister, making sure she was alright after the abrupt turn of events. Waverly looked…confused, scared shitless, and annoyed all the same time. Wynonna was about to ask her if she was ‘okay’ but then Champ was tightening his hold on her and sloppily kissing her cheek.

And that seemed to shut down all of the thoughts and feelings that had been previously running through Waverly's mind. She plastered a fake-looking smile on her face and attempted to relax into the embrace. “Hi, babe,” she said, giving him a kiss before pulling back quickly, unwilling to let Champ prolong it.

Wynonna gagged soundlessly and crossed her arms over her chest, watching the engaged couple interact.

“Having a good time on your girls’ night out?” Champ asked.

“Oh, just the best,” Waverly answered absentmindedly, eyes drifting without her permission towards Nicole and Rosita for what felt like the millionth time that night.

Noticing his fiancée’s focus was elsewhere, Champ looked to where her attention was fixed and saw Nicole and that bartender…entangled, swapping kisses as they danced. Wrinkling his nose in disgust, Champ squeezed the woman in his arms to get her attention. Feeling her eyes on him, he jutted his chin in the direction of the two women and asked, “Why do they gotta do that, be so public about it? It’s disgusting.”

Waverly felt her heart seize in her chest at her fiancée’s words. Champ had never been this vocal about his...dislike of Nicole’s quote-unquote lifestyle. He had made some veiled comments in the past, to which Waverly had been quick to come to her best friend’s defense and put Champ in his place. But tonight...with such a direct condemnation...on the heels of her confusing and terrifying feelings about the whole Nicole-Rosita thing...Waverly found herself nodding, a hesitant ‘yeah’ escaping her lips.

Wynonna’s eyes widened at her sister’s response, knowing full well that wasn’t like her. Her sister was the most accepting, welcoming, and nicest person in all of Purgatory. She had the sash to prove it.

Wynonna quickly realized that Waverly was probably just completely spooked by her almost-light bulb moment and was only reacting out of fear. But in her mind, that was a weak excuse for going along with Champ’s homophobic comment. Shooting a disappointed look at her sister, who immediately dropped her gaze to the floor and avoided eye contact, Wynonna turned her attention to Champ.

“Can-it asshole,” she spat. “Those two are allowed to do whatever they want. It’s 2018 for fuck’s sake. So get your bigoted head out of your ass and don't even think about making another comment like that.”

Conflicting emotions waged war inside of Waverly’s heart. She was feeling guilty about not standing up to Champ, and extremely confused about Nicole, and totally scared at the prospect of being jealous. Feeling extremely uncomfortable in her own skin for the first time in years, Waverly shot her sister an apologetic look, hopefully communicating how sorry she was. Tugging on Champ’s arm, she said, “Let’s get out of here.”

With a nonchalant shrug, Champ shot one more contemptuous glare at the two women and threw an arm across Waverly’s shoulders. “Sure, babe. Let’s roll.”

Champ steered Waverly out of the bar, taking her out the front door and towards his pick-up truck. With each step farther and farther away from _Shorty's_ , Waverly was able to retreat even further into her comfort zone. Far, _far_ away from whatever it was she had been feeling or thinking, from all the confusion and the unknown. 

See, Waverly knew what she was getting with Champ. He was easy, predictable, and safe. He was the exact opposite of all those things she had been experiencing when she watched Nicole kiss her.

So despite her protesting heart, Waverly and her always active mind began to rationalize. 

She explained away all those feelings as worry over losing time with her best friend, as uncertainty if Rosita was good enough for Nicole, as curiosity induced by a multitude of alcoholic beverages. Writing all of it off, Waverly buried those feelings and uncertainties and curiosities deep,  _deep_ inside of her. She put them all into a nice box, labeled it ‘alcohol-induced wedding jitters’ and sealed it, metaphorically dusting her hands off when she was done.

With a deep breath, she tried her best to relax under the weight of Champ’s arm, despite how oppressive it felt, how stifling. She didn’t have time to be confused about anything or dwell on what had happened this evening. She was marrying the man walking beside her, in just a few short weeks. And she was  _totally_ over-the-moon about it.

But tonight...those words felt hollow, devoid of any conviction. And for the first time, Waverly felt like admitting it.

\--

After trading a few more kisses and touches, Nicole pulled away from Rosita, a contrite expression on her face. Breathlessly, she started to say, “Rosie, I-”

But Rosita interrupted her with a dejected, knowing smile. “I know, Nicole. I knew it then and I know it now. And maybe it was selfish of me to do this…but I just wanted to show you that there are people out there who want you and would be lucky to call you theirs.”

A look of gratitude and regret flashed across Nicole’s flushed face, “Thank you…and I’m sorry. I wish I could-”

“Save it, Stud. Maybe I wish it too, but I’ve never let myself get too mixed up with someone whose heart’s taken. And I am not gonna start now.”

Placing a soft, chaste kiss on her swollen lips, Nicole pulled back and untangled herself from the Latina. “Rosita, I really am sorry, but thank you for this.”

“I know you are, Nicole. And I’m always here for you if you ever need anything. Don’t be a stranger, okay?” Rosita replied, squeezing one of Nicole’s hands in her own before turning around and retreating behind the bar.

Nicole let her eyes fall shut and she tilted her head back, trying her best to process everything that had just happened. A punch to her arm had her eyes flying open, wildly looking around to find the source of the fist. Her brown eyes found an angry looking Earp standing in front of her.

“So I leave your sorry ass for like two seconds and you run off to play tonsil hockey with the hottie mixologist? What the hell happened to ‘I’m so in love with your sister, Wynonna’?”

Guiltily, Nicole ducked her head and an embarrassed blush heated her cheeks. “Shit...Wynonna I’m sorry, but Rosita is-”

“Smokin’ hot, _I know_.”

Eyebrows climbing high on her forehead, Nicole smirked at the brunette. “Oh, you think so, huh?”

“Psh I have eyes, don’t I? _But,_ her well-endowed, aesthetic appeal doesn’t give you a ‘get out of jail free’ card here, Haughtshot.”

Despite her fleeting amusement at the elder Earp’s comments, Nicole got impossibly more weighed down with guilt over her actions. “I know that, Wynonna,” she replied, eyes downcast. “I just-it was nice to forget for a while, you know? To not think about Waverly or the wedding or any of that. I thought I deserved one night where I didn’t feel so broken and _alone_.”

Wynonna eyed the redhead in silence for a few moments, before softening. “Okay, _okay_. Enough of the sob story, I can't take any more of it. And I promise to forgive you for your indiscretions _if and only if..._ you buy me some whiskey.”

With an exasperated shake of her head, Nicole conceded. “Fine. You’ve got yourself a deal, Earp.”

With that, the two meandered over to the bar, both lost in their own thoughts.

\--End Chapter Six--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay okay, put down the torches and pitchforks! Nicole and Rosita are done! 
> 
> Now we move onto Waverly trying to understand her feelings and Nicole feeling guilty about what she did at the bar. Next chapter has the morning after all of these things...but not that kind of morning after!
> 
> See y'all on Saturday for Chapter seven!!
> 
> xoxo


	7. Way Down We Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Nicole’s first coherent thought was that she was horribly hungover.
> 
> Her head was pounding, her stomach was queasy, and she had that terrible dry mouth resulting from too much whiskey the night before.
> 
> Her second thought was that she had no idea where she was."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Saturday everyone!!
> 
> Graduation has been INSANE but I managed to sneak away for a few minutes to post this!!
> 
> So this chapter title refers to the song by Kaleo. It is seriously one of my all-time favorite songs and for all the Sanvers fans out there, the song has a special place in our hearts.
> 
> Chapter Seven dives into the aftermath of the bachelorette party at Shorty's. We get some conversation between Waverly and Nicole, as well as some more fun Wynonna moments!
> 
> I hope y'all like it :)
> 
> xoxo

** Chapter Seven: Way Down We Go**

Nicole’s first coherent thought was that she was horribly hungover.

Her head was pounding, her stomach was queasy, and she had that terrible dry mouth resulting from too much whiskey the night before.

Her second thought was that she had no idea where she was.

Slowly cracking open an eye, she surveyed her surroundings anxiously before recognizing the room around her. With a sigh of relief, she realized she was in the Homestead, laying on the lumpy living room couch.

Her and Wynonna must have come back here after the bar last night. She had a vague recollection of a pink car…some Adele on the radio…and a mustached man? It took her foggy brain longer than she wanted to admit, but she finally put two and two together to realize Doc must have driven them to the Homestead.

Releasing a deep breath and thanking her lucky stars that neither one of them had gotten behind the wheel, she turned over and spotted Wynonna curled up on the floor, a blanket covering her up. Looking down at herself, Nicole noticed she had a blanket as well, which was odd because she didn’t remember grabbing one before passing out. 

 _But then again, I don’t remember much of anything after the bar_ , she thought grimly.

With slow movements, Nicole extricated her left arm out from under the blanket and checked her watch. Seeing the hands at 9 and 12, she instantly panicked, realizing she was oh so very late for her shift. Throwing the blanket off of herself, Nicole rushed to stand and instantly regretted it as her stomach rolled, threatening to spill its contents all over the floor and the blissfully asleep Wynonna.

Bracing herself against the back of the couch, Nicole closed her eyes and breathed deeply, willing her nausea to subside long enough for her to find her shoes and somehow get home and somehow go in for her shift.

A voice from the kitchen doorway startled the already panicked redhead. 

“Morning.”

Moving at a much slower pace as to not irritate her head or her stomach, Nicole opened her eyes and tilted her head in the direction of the voice. Seeing that it was Waverly, she instantly relaxed.

“Morning,” she replied hoarsely, voice gravely from the alcohol and the lack of sleep.

“You can relax, Nic. I already called Nedley and told him you were sick. He seemed to buy it, but he did mention something about Chrissy calling in sick this morning as well.”

Grimacing, Nicole decided to just take an ‘L’ on this one. She had plenty of overtime racked up that one sick day wouldn’t look bad, despite the circumstances.

“Thanks,” Nicole rasped, offering the brunette a tight-lipped grimace.

The two fell into an awkward silence, the first one either one of them could remember having during their friendship. Even when they were on shaky terms these past few months, their stilted conversations had never descended into awkwardness. As the silence stretched on and the feeling of discomfort grew, both of them tried to say something at the same time.

“So how-”

“Are you-” 

The friends broke off when they heard the other try to speak, pausing for a second before laughing quietly, conscious of the still sleeping woman on the ground. With a glance down at her sister, Waverly looked up and smiled guiltily at Nicole. She then beckoned the redhead into the kitchen, as to avoid accidentally waking Wynonna up with their continued conversation.

She took a seat at the table and held her mug tightly between her hands. Nicole pushed off the couch and followed the brunette, popping her head around the doorframe as she said, “Hey I’m gonna go freshen up super quick. I’ll be right back.”

Getting an understanding nod in response, Nicole made her way to the guest bathroom. Sparing her terrifying reflection in the mirror a glance, she mentally kicked herself for looking so haggard as she rummaged around in the drawers for the toiletries she had left over on previous stays. Finding them, she quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face. Running her fingers through her unruly hair, Nicole decided the bed-head look would be as good it was going to get this morning. With one final glance in the mirror, this time feeling a bit more presentable, she made her way back to the kitchen.

Waverly was in the same spot she had left her, staring off into space. Nicole cleared her throat, announcing her presence as to not scare the brunette. But even so, she saw Waverly jump at the sound, earning an apologetic smile from the redhead. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just gonna-” Nicole said, gesturing at the coffee pot.

“Yeah of course,” Waverly replied absentmindedly. 

“So…what were you trying to say earlier, Waves?” Nicole asked, looking over at the brunette. She saw Waverly start to fidget with the mug in her hand, looking suddenly nervous for some reason. 

“Oh...I umm...I was going to ask how the rest of your night was,” Waverly replied.

Nicole tilted her head to the side, eyeing her best friend curiously. She couldn't understand why the brunette looked like she was, on the one hand, dying for the answer, but on the other, absolutely terrified at the prospect of getting it.

“It was…” Nicole trailed off, face flushing as the memories of her time with Rosita flooded her mind. Clearing her throat, she relied on half-truths to give Waverly an answer, “…uneventful for the most part.”

“It looked pretty eventful from where I was standing.”

Shock flooded Nicole's system and left her momentarily rooted in front of the kitchen counter, hands gripping the now-empty coffee pot and her newly-filled mug. Waverly had seen her with Rosita...

_Shit._

With a deep breath, Nicole turned and faced the brunette fully, leaning her hip against the counter.

Nicole had known, on some subconscious level, that Waverly seeing them was a possibility. And while she wasn't sure what she expected from Waverly, she hadn’t expected her tone to sound so...judgmental. Resentful. Bitter. She just couldn’t get over her tone…it sounded as if…

_No._

Nicole was just so hungover and sleep deprived that she had imagined the emotion behind the brunette’s words. Because there was no way that Waverly could be _jealous_...right?

Nicole shook her head and let her eyes fall to the floor, trying to find the words to explain what had happened last night. But how do you tell someone that you only participated in a heated, drunken dance floor make out to help you forget about your feelings for _them_?

“I-uh-well…you saw that?” she mumbled.

“I think everyone saw that, Nic,” Waverly replied evenly, with a hint of judgment to her tone.

“Oh, boy. Well uh, it didn’t mean anything. It was a drunken mistake and I mean, you know I don’t make of habit of doing _that_. But…I don’t know, it just kinda happened, Waves,” Nicole rambled, looking anywhere but at the brunette, the embarrassment she felt completely overwhelming her.

She was met with silence, causing her to lift her gaze and look at her best friend. Waverly stared intently back at her, brow furrowed, not saying a thing. Nicole was completely put-off by the lack of response from her best friend and she felt her anxiety begin to rise because of it.

For the most part, Waverly was usually easy to read. Nicole prided herself on being able to know her best friend that well, to pick up on the slightest changes in her mood. But as tried to understand what was going in that big, beautiful mind of Waverly’s, Nicole found she couldn’t. She was utterly and completely flummoxed by the woman sitting in front of her.

So, Nicole hesitantly ventured a guess. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re mad at me?” 

Worrying her bottom lip, Waverly responded tentatively, “I’m not mad at you, Nic.”

The redhead scoffed. “You don’t sound too sure about that.”

Looking away from those big brown eyes that always seemed to _see_ her, Waverly squirmed in her chair. Last night she had put everything away nice and neat into that box, but now…with Nicole standing right in front of her…she felt it all breaking out of the constraints she had created, rising up to the surface. 

“I-I was just worried about you is all.”

“Worried?” Nicole questioned, as unconvinced with that response as Waverly sounded about it herself.

But the brunette was nodding, seemingly confident about the direction she had decided upon. And she was running with it. 

“Yeah! I mean you never drink like that, and then when I saw you with _Rosita_ ,” Waverly forced her name out angrily, “I was worried that maybe she was-well I don’t know, maybe-”

“Taking advantage of me?” Nicole supplied, eyes widening at the suggestion. 

Waverly shrugged at the question, gaze falling to the table.

With an almost incredulous bark of laughter, Nicole was quick to assuage any lingering worries. “Trust me, Waves. I was definitely a willing participant. But I appreciate your concern.”

Nicole expected a laugh, maybe one of those adorable giggles she loved so much, but Waverly only gave her a half-hearted smile, furthering the redhead’s confusion. But before she could dwell on it, Waverly was interrupting her.

“So do you umm like Rosita? I mean, are you two like a thing now?”

Shaking her head, Nicole quickly cried, “No!”

Waverly’s eyes widened in surprise and her brows rose high up on her forehead at the speed and ferocity of Nicole’s response.

Seeing Waverly’s reaction, Nicole realized how rushed her answer had been. So she added, hopefully a bit more calmly and quietly, “No, I don’t-were umm, we’re not together. Nope, Rosita and I are just friends.”

Waverly just looked at her, and Nicole could almost see the wheels turning in her head. After a few moments of silent deliberation, Waverly seemed to come to some realization or conclusion, because she physically relaxed, the tension leaving her small frame.

With a small, teasing smile, Waverly smirked, “How’s the saying go, Nic? Something like ‘methinks she doth protest too much’?”

Nicole felt laughter bubble in her chest at Waverly’s comment, feeling a little lighter now that her best friend didn’t look so…troubled.

With a wry grin, the redhead replied, “Something like that, but in this case, Shakespeare would definitely be wrong. Rosita and I are aren’t together…I don’t feel that way about her.” 

Rolling her eyes, Waverly continued down this path, despite Nicole’s response. “It would be okay if you did, Nic. You don’t have to lie to me.”

Losing her composure, Nicole whisper-shouted, “Jesus, Waves, I’m not lying to you! She’s not the one I want to be with!”

Nicole’s words reverberated around the room, leaving silence in their wake. The redhead blamed her body’s current lack of caffeine and sleep for her major slip up. That was the closest she had ever come to admitting her feelings for her best friend, and to say that she was holding her breath would be an understatement. 

When Waverly didn’t answer, just looked at her with those unreadable eyes, that indecipherable expression, Nicole rushed to apologize. “Shit, I didn’t mean to-I’m sorry. I just…I’m not lying, Waves.”

Nodding her head, Waverly answered with her own apology. “No, I’m sorry. I just thought maybe…honestly, I don’t know what I thought. Maybe part of me thought you could do better…”

Nicole had to bite her tongue to keep herself from parroting those same words back to Waverly. Now wasn’t the time, she had given enough away already. She had basically shown all of her cards, all of them except one. She still held the ace of hearts and didn’t plan on playing that one anytime soon.

“…because you deserve someone great, Nic. You deserve great because _you are great_.”

Nicole’s heart lurched in her chest at the look in Waverly’s eyes, at the soft way she had spoken about her. For a brief moment, Nicole let the seed of hope she had planted long ago to grow a little bit more. That look in her eyes…the way Waverly talked about her…it had to mean that maybe- 

“I just want the best for my best friend.”

And there it was. Honestly, Nicole shouldn’t even be surprised at this point. In the past, whenever she let herself hope, to dream that maybe just _maybe_  Waverly felt the same way, the brunette had a way of putting her right back into the friend zone with some carefully chosen words.

“Right, of course...so, umm, anyways...how was your night?"

Waverly schooled her features, unwilling to give anything away, trying to keep everything from last night trapped all nice and neat in that box. "It was great! Champ showed up a little while after you and Rosita umm, you know...and then we uh, we left and came back here."

Nicole just nodded and sipped her coffee, unsure if that comment warranted a response. 

Waverly opened her mouth as if she were going to say something else, but she faltered, unsure if she wanted to go down this road. But with a deep breath and a bit of soul searching, she realized she wanted to. So, she decided to voice something that had been eating away at her slowly, over these past few months. Something she had just found the strength to say aloud.

"I'd be a fool not to marry him, right?" Waverly asked, eyes seeking the warm, kind brown ones of her best friend.

Nicole responded almost immediately, a reluctant half-smile gracing her features. "As long as you believe it in your heart."

Waverly forced out a strained giggle, trying not to dwell on the fact that her gut reaction to that statement was a resounding 'NO'. Gesturing with her hand, she said, "I sorta feel like I'm you know, mmm, running towards a cliff, terrified of jumping but-"

"Well if it's right you don't think about the cliff, because you're sure when you reach the edge, you'll fly," Nicole interrupted, voice softening as her eyes stayed trained on the brunette.

Waverly held her gaze, a multitude of emotions swirling within her hazel eyes as a slow smile broke out across her face. She looked completely charmed by Nicole's heartfelt words and opened her mouth to respond...but was stopped by a newcomer entering the kitchen.

“You two _assholes_ really need to learn how to whisper.”

Nicole let out a breathy laugh and just shook her head, offering the grumpy Earp a ‘good morning to you too’ in response to her rather un-cheerful, but totally 'Wynonna' greeting. 

Without letting Waverly say her 'good morning' as well, the elder Earp spoke again. “Ugh! Who the fuck finished all the coffee?” she asked, voice laced with quiet anger that was infinitely more terrifying than her usual loudmouthed fury.

Waverly eyed Nicole, trying to stifle her giggles. The redhead was definitely sipping the last few precious drops of it right now!

Before either one of them could attempt to ward off Wynonna's wrath, the fourth and final person in the house walked into the kitchen. Champ came strolling in and ambled towards Waverly, without sparing a look or a greeting for either one of the two other women in the kitchen.

Letting out a loud groan at the sight of Champ, Wynonna grumbled, “And I thought no coffee was the worst thing that coulda happened to me this morning...but here you are Champ, proving me wrong.”

Nicole held the mug up to her lips, hiding her dimpled grin in response to the elder Earp's words. She watched Champ think really hard to try and come up with some kind of clever response, completely fail, and mutter a simple ‘loser’ in the direction of the elder Earp. 

Waverly let out an exasperated sigh and Wynonna just shrugged as a tense, awkward quiet descended upon the Homestead for the second time that day.

Wynonna was the one to break the silence. “Well, Haughtsauce what do you say we get outta here and let the fiancées do their thing? I could murder a stack of pancakes.”

Swallowing down the rest of her coffee, Nicole nodded and followed the brunette out of the kitchen. But before she walked through the doorframe, Nicole looked over her shoulder at Waverly and found her already looking in her direction. She shot the brunette the 'Nicole Haught' trademarked dimpled grin and saw Waverly's eyes light up in response, a brilliant smile begin to tug at her lips. Nicole let herself get lost in the way Waverly was looking at her...before her view was blocked by Champ flipping Hardy, effectively ending their eye contact and their moment. 

\--

A few weeks later and it was almost here. 

Tomorrow was the big day…and the knowledge of that twisted Nicole’s stomach into knots, and not the matrimonial kind.

Smoothing out the non-existent wrinkles in her black jumpsuit, Nicole took a few deep breaths in an effort to calm down. She was a total mess. A conflicted, confused, conundrum of a mess. 

Part of her was dreading tomorrow. She _knew_ how difficult it was going to be. Watching Waverly walk down the aisle, stand across from Champ, and say ‘I Do’. An involuntary shudder ran through the redhead at the thought.

But the other part of her couldn’t wait for it to be over. She needed the closure that tomorrow would bring. She needed to literally watch the woman she loves, marry someone else. That way, she could finally let go of the torch she had carried for her best friend, for far too long. Tomorrow, she could finally let all of her irrational hope die and she would be able to hopefully move on.

She just had to get through tonight first. 

Slipping into the maroon heels and putting on the gold bracelet she had picked up this morning at the consignment store, Nicole felt like her outfit was finally complete. Checking her phone, she had about fifteen minutes to get to the Wainwright Hotel to make it on time to the very formal rehearsal dinner.

Thankfully, she found a parking spot right in front and got inside with minutes to spare. She was about to barrel through the doors leading into the main Ballroom when she spotted a familiar figure pacing on the balcony upstairs.

“Waves?” she called, causing the woman to still and glance down in her direction. She saw Waverly smile brightly at her and then rush to descend the staircase.

Nicole had to remind herself to breathe as she took in Waverly’s outfit. Her best friend wore a strapless, teal colored dress that clung tightly to her body. The bodice was a mixture of teal beads and mesh, cream-colored fabric. The pattern continued down the mermaid-style dress, ending in bunches of tulle. Waverly had grabbed the fabric of the dress in one hand, holding it up as she walked down the steps.

Reaching the bottom, Waverly approached her, looking to be a bundle of nerves and excitement. In an attempt to ease her worries, Nicole decided to say the first thing that popped into her mind. 

“You…are a vision.”

Scoffing, Waverly ducked her head, a light blush coloring her cheeks. “Oh please, I didn’t even have time to accessorize.” 

Nicole just grinned, dimples popping as she threw an exaggerated wink at her best friend. “See, I knew I wore this bracelet for a reason.”

Waverly’s eyes shot up and met hers, a smile growing on her face as she looked down and watched Nicole delicately place the gold bracelet around her wrist. Before she could thank her, Nicole was talking again.

“So, what were you doing up there?"

Waving her hand dismissively, causing the newly-acquired bracelet to slide down her arm, Waverly replied, "Oh I just...well honestly I was working off some nervous energy."

Softening, Nicole reached out and placed her hand on Waverly's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You have nothing to be nervous about, Waves. Trust me, you'll be the most beautiful woman in the room...and besides, tonight is all about your family and friends getting together to have a good time. Nothing to worry about! So...are you ready for this?” 

Putting on a brave face, Waverly responded, “As I’ll ever be. Let’s do this.” 

With that, she reached up to grab Nicole’s hand off of her shoulder and led her into the Ballroom.

\--End Chapter Seven--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...thoughts on the newest chapter?
> 
> And what's going to happen at the rehearsal dinner? Is Nicole going to survive it? Is Champ going to make another appearance and make us hate him more? 
> 
> Find out on Wednesday :)
> 
> Until then Earpers, xoxo


	8. Wanna Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The rehearsal dinner was going smoothly, much to Nicole’s relief.
> 
> Everyone was mingling. The drinks were flowing. The food was perfect. And even if she didn’t go near the crab cakes, the shrimp cocktail had been to die for. So for the most part, everything was going according to plan.
> 
> But now came the nerve-wracking part of the evening: it was time for her to give Waverly and Champ one of their wedding gifts."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We’ve finally gotten to Wayhaught Wednesday!! 
> 
> Thanks for all the patience between chapters, it is so appreciated!
> 
> So this chapter title refers to the song Wanna Be by Betty Who. My girl Sherbear showed me this artist and this song, and she was totally right that it captures the emotions of this chapter!!
> 
> In this one, we have the rehearsal dinner. There’s some homophobic language from our least favorite character, so just a warning about that. Other than that, we have some cute moments, some heartbreaking ones, and then more Wynonna! Aka what’s new since that’s what I usually have :)
> 
> Hope y’all like it! 
> 
> Xoxo

** Chapter Eight: Wanna Be **

The rehearsal dinner was going smoothly, much to Nicole’s relief.

Everyone was mingling. The drinks were flowing. The food was perfect. And even if she didn’t go near the crab cakes, the shrimp cocktail had been to die for. So for the most part, everything was going according to plan.

But now came the nerve-wracking part of the evening: it was time for her to give Waverly and Champ one of their wedding gifts.

It wasn't exactly customary to give gifts during the rehearsal dinner, but Nicole thought an exception should be made in this case. This wasn't the kind of gift you could give the bride and groom on their wedding day and have them wait to open it. Plus, Nicole knew everyone would want to see Waverly's (and unfortunately Champ's) reaction. She knew she sure did. 

Making her way to the front of the room with hurried steps, Nicole swiped a glass of champagne on her way, taking a small sip of the golden liquid. She moved up to where the DJ was playing some easy-listening background music. Gesturing for a microphone, she gave one final glance around the room.

Nobody seemed to pay her much attention, all too lost in their own conversations. Her eyes landed on the small head table, where Waverly and Champ sat. Champ seemed to be going on about something, but Waverly wasn’t giving him the time of day. Instead, she was gazing intently back at Nicole, confusion etched on her face.

Offering her best friend a tense, dimpled grin, she tapped the microphone and spoke into it, “Excuse me, everyone. If I could have your attention please.”

About fifty pairs of eyes all focused on her, any conversation or mingling put on hold in favor of hearing what Nicole had to say. With one final deep breath, Nicole started to scan the faces in the crowd and launched into her speech. 

“I just wanted to take a moment to say a few things. First off, thank you, everyone, for coming tonight. It’s been one heck of a party so far and we haven't even gotten to the good stuff yet!"

Polite laughter echoed through the small crowd, giving Nicole some confidence, prompting her to continue.

“But more importantly, I am standing up here and forcing you all to listen to me because a few of us have a special surprise for the bride and groom.”

Nodding to Wynonna, Nicole gave her the agreed-upon signal, which meant that it was time to approach the head table and give Waverly an unsealed envelope.

“A group of us here tonight pooled some of our money together to buy you two a pair of airline tickets. They are good for any time and for anywhere in the world. Waves, I know you’ve never seen the ocean or gone skydiving, or eaten geoduck. So I-we wanted to let you choose where you go so that you can do it all. Everything you’ve always wanted, everything you’ve always been too scared to do.”

Another deep breath and Nicole stared unflinchingly into Waverly’s eyes, which had begun to get a tad misty. 

“I think I speak for everyone here when I say that I wish you all the happiness in the world. Tomorrow is going to be the start of the rest of your lives. It’s going to be the day that forever changes you. And we are all very excited to be there to witness it! So ladies and gentlemen, raise a glass to Champ and Waverly and join me in toasting to their love, their happiness, and their future together.” 

The sound of clinking glasses and cheers echoed off the walls, but despite the flurry of activity around her, Nicole didn’t break eye contact with Waverly. 

At some point during her speech, she had seen Waverly start to cry, silent tears streaming down her cheeks as she listened with rapt attention. And now that Nicole had finished, she was getting up and moving out from behind the table, hurrying towards the redhead.

Before Nicole knew it, Waverly was wrapping her in a tight hug, arms thrown around her neck. Nicole closed her eyes and let out a shuddery breath. She was impressed with herself for not only keeping it together during the speech but especially right now, with Waverly in her arms, whispering words of thanks and appreciation. 

Waverly clung tightly to the redhead and decided she never wanted that hug to end. She was so overwhelmed by this deep feeling of gratitude for the woman in her arms that she had to blink back fresh tears  

She had told Nicole about all of those things that scared her so many years ago, sometime in their first year of college. Waverly never expected Nicole to remember them, let alone bring them up _now_ as the reasons for getting her this wonderful wedding present. And she knew, that while this gift had come from a group of her friends and family, the idea itself had the work of Nicole Haught written all over it.

With one final squeeze, she dropped out of the redhead’s arms, eyes quickly meeting Nicole's.

“Nic…I-I don’t know what to say…other than thank you. From the bottom of my heart, _thank you_.”

Delicately wiping a stray tear off Waverly’s cheek, Nicole let her hand fall to her side as she replied, “You’re welcome, Waves. I’m so glad you like it.”

In mock-incredulity, Waverly shot back, “Like it? I _love_ it!”

Nicole giggled at the brunette’s enthusiasm, a feeling of warmth running through her body at the knowledge that Waverly liked her gift. No, _loved_ her gift. 

And then their happy bubble was burst by the arrival of Champ, much to the disappointment of the two women. Placing his arm firmly around Waverly’s waist, he pulled her close to his body, almost territorially.

“Great gift, Nicole. _We_ are really going to enjoy that, aren’t we babe?”

Nodding wordlessly, Waverly continued to smile at Nicole, unable to shake this unknown and unnamed feeling that currently had a hold on her heart. 

“We just gotta get through tomorrow first. Speaking of which, you bringing a plus one?” Champ asked the redhead with pseudo-politeness. 

Narrowing her eyes at him, Nicole licked her lips before giving him a strained smile. “Nope, unfortunately, Chyler Leigh had to cancel on me last minute, so I’m flying solo tomorrow.” 

Waverly chuckled at Nicole’s answer, but Champ seemed less than amused. Sparing her a tight grimace, he shot back, “Cute. But you didn’t look so ‘solo’ a few weeks ago.” 

“Excuse me?” Nicole asked, voice getting dangerously low.

“I just assumed you would bring that bartender, what’s her name, babe? The one with the…” Champ trailed off, gesturing to his chest. 

Nicole swallowed down her revulsion for the man as she watched him identify another woman by her breasts, with his fiancée literally standing right there.

“Rosita,” Waverly offered from between clenched teeth.

“Yeah! That’s it!”

Keeping her anger in check, Nicole answered tightly, “Well, we’re just friends and no, I’m not bringing her as my date.”

“Just friends, huh? You two looked a bit friendlier than that the other night.” 

“Champ!” Waverly admonished, moving out of his grasp.

“What? Look, all I’m trying to say is that I’m glad you’re not bringing her.”

At the confused look Nicole gave him, Champ continued with a leering smile, “That way history won’t repeat itself and you two won’t get all hot and bothered on the dance floor at our reception. Because that would be-” 

“Hardy James, don’t you dare finish that sentence!” Waverly bellowed, anger causing her small frame to shake. Eyes boring into Nicole’s, she began to apologize, “Nicole, I’m so sor-”

A raised hand halted her words. “Stop, Waverly. If he has something to say to me, I want him to say it,” Nicole said, staring challengingly at the boy-man.

Taking a step forward, placing himself between his fiancée and her best friend, Champ sneered, “What I was trying to say was that would be disgusting, just disgusting.”

Nicole balled her hands into fists at her sides, eyes alighting with fury. This wasn’t the first time she had heard something like this and it wouldn’t be the last, but hearing it from the man who Waverly had deemed suitable enough to marry? Well, it made the jagged, bitter pill that much tougher to swallow.

Waverly stepped around Champ, a hand reached out for Nicole. But Nicole stopped Waverly’s movement with the fierceness of her words, the hurt in her eyes. 

“Don’t you dare try and apologize for him,” Nicole whispered brokenly, turning on her heel and storming off, getting lost in the groups of people surrounding them.

Fuming, Waverly spun on her heel and slapped Champ hard across the face. “You homophobic asshole! Are you kidding me right now? You _do not_ get to speak to her like that!”

Champ held a hand up to cradle his flaming cheek, putting on his best pout despite his shock at Waverly's outburst. “Aww babe, come on.”

“Don’t you ‘aww babe’ me. That was a messed up thing to say! I want you to think real hard about whether that’s how you feel about my best friend, because if it is? Well, I wouldn't bother showing up tomorrow. You have an hour to apologize to Nicole and then to me. Now go mingle or something, I’m going after Nic.”

Without waiting for a reply, Waverly turned around and followed the same path Nicole had taken a few seconds ago, desperately hoping she would catch her before it was too late. Rushing out of the Wainwright and into the crisp, night air, Waverly’s eyes quickly found Nicole. She was sliding into her cruiser and before Waverly could even yell her name, the redhead was peeling away from the curb and heading down Main Street. 

Letting out an exasperated groan, Waverly stomped her foot. Of course shit would hit the fan the night before her wedding, she thought.

“Babygirl!” 

At the sound of Wynonna’s voice, Waverly turned to face the front door. She saw her sister approaching her, shivering at the cold temperature outside, hands rubbing at the exposed skin of her arms.

“What’s going on?” Wynonna questioned, voice soft and eyes searching Waverly’s for an answer.

“Champ was being an ass and said something to Nicole and then she left before I could talk to her and now I don’t know how to fix it and I-” 

“Whoa whoa whoa, Waves. Take a breath. I’m sure everything’s going to be fine. Nicole...well, she just probably needs some space right now.”

Staring at the road that Nicole had disappeared down moments ago, Waverly stayed silent for a beat before nodding her head. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Scoffing, Wynonna shot her sister a smile. “Oh Angel Pants, of course, I’m right! Now can we back inside puh-lease? I’m freezing my top-shelf ass off out here!” 

Chuckling, Waverly replied, “Roger that, Bacon Donut. Let’s get you warm.” 

\--

Later that night, after the party had ended and she had been dragged back to the Homestead with Wynonna, Waverly couldn’t shake the feeling that things weren’t fine. 

Thinking back on the evening, Champ had been extremely apologetic when she had returned inside with Wynonna. He had said all the right things and groveled for a respectable amount of time. And then when the party finished, he had retreated to their apartment above _Shorty’s_ , promising to see her tomorrow.

But she couldn’t forget the things he had said, the tone of his voice.

Or…the haunted look that had come into Nicole’s eyes at Champ’s words. The way her own stomach had bottomed out when Nicole’s voice had cracked with unchecked emotion, asking her not to apologize for him. The way her heart had broken as she watched Nicole walk away from her, drive away from her.

Swallowing down the tears that threatened to fall, Waverly quietly slid out of bed, grabbing her phone from the nightstand. Throwing on her blue puffy coat, Waverly slipped outside and dialed a number she knew by heart. 

She put the phone to her ear and listened to it ring. It rang almost all the way to voicemail before a quiet, hesitant voice answered. 

_“Hello?”_

“Nic,” Waverly breathed, voice catching on her name.

_“Oh…hey, Waves.”_

“I umm, I just wanted to call you after…what happened tonight.” 

She heard Nicole let out a heavy sigh.

_“If you called to apologize, I don’t wanna hear it. I already told you…you don’t need to apologize for him, especially to me.”_

“But-”

_“No, Waves. There’s no ‘but’ here. He’s a grown man, and you're not responsible for him. Fiancée or not."_

“Fine.”

_“Fine.”_

It was silent for a few moments before Nicole spoke again.

 _“But I-I’m sorry for leaving tonight, Waves. I just...I needed to get out of there.”_

“No apology necessary, Nic. I just wish I could have done something about it.”

_“Well, did you say anything to him after I left?”_

“Oh did I! I called him a homophobic asshole and told him to apologize to you. And then I said something along the lines of ‘If that’s how you’re going to treat my best friend, then you need to think real hard about showing up tomorrow’ or something like that.”

Nicole let out a low whistle in reply. 

 _“Damn, Waves. I guess that explains the text I got.”_

“He texted you?”

_“I assume it was him? It literally said ‘Sorry. C U 2morrow.’ But I feel like the apology was super sincere because he ended the text with the thumbs up emoji.”_

Giggling, Waverly felt lighter than she had all evening since Champ's outburst.

“He did not?!”

_“Oh, but he did! I have the text to prove it.”_

Hearing Nicole’s light giggle from the other end of the line, Waverly’s laughter came even easier now. The tension was slowly seeping from her body, leaving her feeling relaxed and ready to get some rest before her big day.

“Well I’m glad he apologized and I know you won’t let me apologize for him…but just in general, I’m sorry for what you had to go through tonight and...for all of the BS you’ve had to put up with these past few months. I wanted this whole process to be as painless for you as possible, but I think I’ve just ended up making your life harder.”

Waverly heard a snort from her best friend before she answered.

_“There’s nothing easy about being your best friend, Waverly Earp. But...I wouldn’t want it any other way.”_

Waverly melted at Nicole’s response, not picking up on the double meaning of the phrase she used. 

“I wouldn’t want it any other way either...Now we should probably get some sleep, big day tomorrow.” 

Nicole hummed.  _“Big day indeed.”_

“See you tomorrow, then?” 

It was silent for a beat before Nicole replied in an oddly high-pitched voice. 

_“Yeah. Good night, Waves.”_

“Night, Nic.”

Ending the call, Waverly put her phone into her coat pocket and took in a deep lungful of the chilly late night air, letting her eyes fall shut.

She couldn’t get over how much better she was feeling after having talked that through with Nicole. She knew she was going to sleep a little easier tonight, despite the multitude of emotions swirling around inside of her.

Opening her eyes, Waverly stared up at the night sky above her, taking in every star and constellation. She would never get over the peaceful feeling she got from looking up at the stars. And on the eve of her wedding day, she found she was in need of that. 

So, Waverly let her conversation with Nicole and the stars above her ground her, center her before she headed back inside to catch a few hours of beauty sleep.

Tomorrow was the first day of the rest of her life. She wanted to be ready for it.

\--End Chapter Eight--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was definitely a transition chapter and it sorta feels like it. Sorry guys. But it was a necessary one! Had to move us along towards the wedding day...which is coming up next!
> 
> Hope y’all didn’t mind the transition nature of this chapter! And as always, thanks for reading and for joining me on this journey! All of your kudos and comments mean the world to me!
> 
> Xoxo


	9. Turning Tables

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Nicole must have a death wish.
> 
> Because there really was no other explanation for why she would be calling Wynonna Earp at 8 AM.
> 
> On the morning of her baby sister’s wedding day, no less."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it Saturday?
> 
> IT'S SATURDAY MY DUDES!
> 
> So the song for this chapter is Turning Tables by Adele. And it is SO SO SO good!!
> 
> First off, I wanted to say thank you to you all for putting up with me and my angst train for 8 whole chapters! I know it hasn't been easy. It's been full of pain and heartbreak. But those days are behind us...
> 
> Now to the good stuff! This chapter is the beginning of the end...WE FINALLY GET TO THE HAPPY ENDING I HAVE BEEN PROMISING!!
> 
> In this newest chapter, we get a whole lot of Wynonna! We start off with a discussion between her and Nicole, and then we end with a very important one between her and Waverly!
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy :)
> 
> xoxo

  **Chapter Nine: ** ** Turning Tables**

Nicole must have a death wish.

Because there really was no other explanation for why she would be calling Wynonna Earp at 8 AM.

On the morning of her baby sister’s wedding day, no less.

Nicole was sitting up in bed, back rigid against the headboard. She held the phone to her ear and was nervously drumming her fingers atop her sheets as she waited for Wynonna to answer.

After a few rings, she heard the elder Earp pick up the phone, throw out a few expletives, and groggily grumble,  _“Someone better have died or you’re calling to tell me that I’ve won a million dollars.”_

Nicole winced at the irritation that filled Wynonna’s voice. “Umm, neither?”

 _“Then why did you wake me up, Haught?”_  

“Well…I, uh, I-” Nicole started, voice laden with an apology.

_“Hold it right there. If you woke me up from my gloriously sexy dream featuring Doc perkily perched on a Harley to tell me that you’re bailing, I’m coming over there my big ass gun and-”_

“Wynonna!” Nicole cried, interrupting what she was sure was going to be a death threat of the most colorful kind. “Please…” she begged, hoping Wynonna would catch the desperation in her voice. 

She heard a heavy sigh from the brunette.  _“Alright, I get it. I’m pissed as hell, but I get it. So what're you gonna tell her?”_

If Nicole had thought this conversation was difficult so far, it was about to get worse. Much worse. 

“Well, I was kinda hoping-”

 _“No.”_  

“Wyn-”

 _“Hell to the fucking no.”_  

“Please! Wynonna...I _can’t_ ,” she pleaded, voice breaking on the last word. But Nicole's plea was met only with silence, increasing her worries about this phone call tenfold.

Until this moment, Nicole had honestly thought calling Wynonna was her best option.

She had come to the conclusion in the early hours of this morning that there was no way she could be at the wedding. Any need for closure had been fulfilled by Champ’s outburst last night. Knowing that Waverly was still going to marry him…despite everything that had happened…well, it had given Nicole the push she needed to finally put a stop to _whatever_ this was.

But she needed an out.

And there was no way Nicole could talk to Waverly directly because she would cave. If she spoke to Waverly…Nicole wouldn’t be able to say no, to stay away from her. So she had gone to the next best thing: Waverly’s older sister.

Maybe it was stupid to think that Wynonna would help her, but Nicole had to try. After their conversation in _Shorty’s_ all those weeks ago, she knew that Wynonna would somewhat understand where she was coming from. Or so she hoped.

But the dead air between them was doing little to convince Nicole that Wynonna would help her. Until the elder Earp finally spoke up  

_“Fine, fine. Don’t get your panties in a twist. I’ll…I’ll tell her that you got food poisoning...from the crab cakes last night or something.”_

Nose wrinkling, Nicole replied, “But I didn’t even touch those.”

_“She won’t know that! And while I'm super proud of my brilliant plan, I can’t help but wonder if my talent’s being wasted on a situation that doesn’t need it…”_

As the elder Earp trailed off, Nicole could hear the unspoken words, the unvoiced questions. “Just spit it out, subtlety doesn’t suit you, Earp.”

_“Maybe you should just tell her-”_

“No! I’m not going to drop that _bomb_ on her the day of her wedding!”

Nicole’s shouted response was met with an exasperated groan from Wynonna.

_“Oh, come on! Grow a vagina!”_

“Isn’t the phrase grow a pair?” Nicole asked incredulously.

_“Tomato, potato. You need to woman up and tell her how you feel!”_

With a dejected sigh, Nicole replied brokenly, “I can’t…I’m sorry. Can you just-just tell her about the food poisoning? And maybe make sure she doesn’t try to check on me? Do whatever it takes to reassure her.”

After a beat of silence, Wynonna responded. “ _She’s going to be totally pissed, you know that?”_

Nicole let out a sad chuckle, her laughter lacking any humor. “Probably for a bit, yeah. But that’s better than the alternative.”

_“Which is?”_

“Her hating me forever if I ruin today.” 

Nicole heard an honest to god growl from the brunette. She was definitely dealing with pre-coffee and pre-donuts Wynonna. 

_“So damn dramatic, Haught. But alright, I’ll tell her.”_

“Thank you, Wynonna. I-”

_“For fuck's sake, don’t get all mushy on me now. Just…take care of yourself Hau-Nicole.”_

A half-smile tugged at Nicole's lips at Wynonna's words. “I'll try. And you take care of our girl, okay?”

_“Always.”_

The redhead heard the telltale click, signaling that Wynonna had hung up on her. Letting a heavy sigh, Nicole collapsed back down onto her bed and burrowed underneath the covers. As she clutched a pillow tightly to her chest, she felt a few tears leak out from behind her closed eyes. She choked back a sob and tried her best to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach, to forget about what was going to happen later today. 

\--

Waverly couldn’t stop pacing. 

She had made an infinite number of laps around the bridal suite, much to the amusement of her sister. But no amount of striding around the room was helping to quell the worry lodged deep in her chest. To get rid of the feeling that something was _missing_.

“And you’re sure she sounded okay?” Waverly asked her sister for the tenth time that day. 

“Jesus H. Christ, Babygirl! Nicole sounded fine, she just…is dealing with that food poisoning thing. I’ve told you this like a shit ton of times.”

Waverly huffed and continued her next lap around the room. “I know, I know. But it just…I don’t-maybe I should go check on her?”

Wynonna furiously shook her head, standing up from the chair she had been lounging in. Stepping into her sister’s path, Wynonna got Waverly to stop her pacing for a moment as she tried her best to reassure her baby sister.

“No. Nicole made it clear that you needed to focus on today. And besides, you don’t exactly have the time to go all the way across town and make it back in time to marry the Chump.”

At the annoyed look on Waverly’s face, Wynonna quickly amended her statement. “Sorry, Champ.”

Waverly eyed her wearily, clearly not convinced. Wynonna knew that Waverly hadn’t exactly believed the story her and Nicole cooked up this morning...and she still wasn't buying it now.

But Wynonna had been insistent, using her many powers of persuasion to distract Waverly long enough to get her through the day and to the altar. Well, almost there.

Waverly side-stepped around her sister and continued to pace around the room. She was tugging mercilessly on her bottom lip with her front teeth, clearly still struggling with something despite Wynonna's assurances.  

Wynonna had picked up on her sister’s inner turmoil earlier in the day, and it had only gotten worse. Her sister was insanely tense, coiled so tightly that Wynonna thought she might burst at any moment. Wishing to ease the growing tension in Waverly's lithe frame, Wynonna decided it was time for the Hail Mary she had been saving. 

It was now or never.

She had one last chance to make Waverly see that she didn’t have to settle for Champ. That she had something, someone, truly special...she just had to open her eyes and see it. See them.

Softly, Wynonna asked, “What’s going on, Babygirl? This seems like something more than just being worried about Nicole.”

Waverly turned and looked at her sister, fear and uncertainty written across her face. She stopped her pacing, mouth opening and closing a few times. And then she was gesturing wildly with her arms, her words coming out a mile-a-minute, so fast they almost left her older sister in the dust.

“I don’t _know,_ Wynonna! I'm just…I’m sooooo worried about her and I feel like, umm...there’s something missing without her here. We’ve just been planning this for so long and then to not have her here for the end? It makes me feel all…empty inside, you know? Like it’s just… _empty_ without her here. Why does it feel like this? Why do I feel like this, Wyn?”

Wynonna just looked at her baby sister, clearly on the precipice of figuring it all out, and gave her the final push over the edge, as gently as she could. “That’s how it’s supposed to feel when someone you love isn’t here.”

Rolling her eyes, Waverly acted like this wasn’t some big revelation. “Everybody knows that, Wynonna! So I get it-”

Wynonna realized this was going to take more of a push, more work on her part, so she was quick to interrupt her sister.

“No, I don’t think you do, Waves! This isn’t just about missing her or wishing she were here. This is about what you felt that night at _Shorty’s_ , about what I think you’ve been feeling all along. But for some reason, you just won’t admit it!”

Waverly's eyes widened in shock at her sister’s words. She couldn’t believe what her sister had just insinuated…there was no way…

“Wha-wha-what are you talking about?”

Shaking her head, the elder Earp replied, “You know exactly what I’m talking about, Waves. What you and Nicole have…it goes deeper than friendship. But for some reason, you just don’t see that. Or maybe you don’t want to see it.”

Waverly started to pace again, a newfound sense of panic in her steps as she continued her laps around the room. “I don’t-I don't know what you're saying, Wynonna! I-I...there’s just no way! I love Nicole but I’m not _in love_ with her…” 

Wynonna could see the gears turning in her baby sister’s head as she struggled with this. She had a feeling that she had just turned Waverly’s world upside down with that statement, making her question every thought, every action, every feeling she had ever experienced over the course of her and Nicole’s friendship. But it was a necessary struggle, one Wynonna was sure would result in the right decision.

But still, right now Waverly was floundering. Fear and anxiety were setting in as her steps got even faster, taking her in hurried circles inside of the bridal suite. Wynonna knew she had to calm her sister down. It was only then, when the panic and the terror subsided, that Waverly would be able to truly see who was in her heart.

“Babygirl!” Wynonna cried, halting her sister’s pacing with a firm grip on her shoulders.

Waverly was trembling beneath Wynonna’s hands, her body shaking from the emotional war being waged within her. She blinked her eyes at the sudden intrusion and looked up at her sister, hazel eyes full of doubt and fear.

Waverly felt incredibly lost. Drifting in a sea of uncertainty. Waverly didn’t know what was going on in her own mind, in her own heart. But her older sister was there...and came to her rescue. Just like she always would.

“Waves…I need you to take some deep breaths. You need to calm down, okay? Now breathe in and out, for me.”

Waverly tightly nodded her head and forced air in and out of her lungs, trying to calm down. After a few moments, the wild look in her eyes had retreated and her body stopped shaking. Her breaths were coming easier and she was slowly relaxing, following Wynonna’s instructions.

“Good, Babygirl. That’s good. Now…close your eyes.”

At the raised eyebrow shot in her direction, Wynonna let out a heavy sigh and gently squeezed Waverly’s shoulders.

“Humor me, Waves.”

Exhaling softly in resignation, Waverly closed her eyes and continued to take deep breaths in and out, feeling incrementally calmer by the second.

Wynonna waited until her sister fully relaxed under her touch before she continued. “Now…I want you to picture walking down the aisle on your wedding day. Picture it all. The dress, the flowers, the guests. Everything. Now look up and tell me…who is the person you see standing there, waiting for you, at the end of the aisle?”

Waverly sucked in a surprised breath, feeling her heart start to hammer in her chest.

She had done exactly what she had been told. She had pictured it, her perfect wedding day. And when she had looked up…she hadn’t seen Champ…she had seen a very familiar redhead. At that moment, Waverly realized that her heart belonged not to the man waiting for her in the church, but to another…someone who had truly held it all along.

Eyes fluttering open, Waverly looked up at her sister and tried to understand this drastic turn of events. “But I’ve never-I don’t see her like _that_.”

“You sure about that?” Wynonna questioning softly, gaze full of love. Of acceptance.

Waverly thought for a moment, and then she closed her eyes again, just to double check that her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her…

And it wasn’t.

At the end of that aisle stood her best friend. That same dimpled grin, cropped fiery hair hanging loose around her shoulders, dressed in a stunning white jumpsuit. The vision sent chills through her body, set her heart aflutter. 

Apparently, she _did_ see Nicole like that.

In a moment of complete candor, Waverly realized it was always Nicole...had always been her. It’s why she had never liked any of Nicole’s friends in college, however briefly they stuck around. It’s why she had felt that slight tightness in her stomach when Nicole changed out of her sweaty gym shirts in front of her, why she couldn’t help but curiously stare. It’s why her heart had hurt that night she watched Nicole kiss Rosita.

It all made sense now. 

Blinking her eyes open once more, Waverly looked up at her sister. Letting out a shuddery breath, she whispered, “Wynonna…I-I’m scared.”

“Oh, Waves. When it’s scary like this…that’s when you know it’s the real thing.”

Letting out a watery chuckle, Waverly felt a small smile grow on her face as she tugged Wynonna into a bone-crushing hug. Squeezing her even tighter, Waverly pressed her face into her sister’s hair and confessed to what she had seen, who she had seen, even though she had a feeling Wynonna already knew.

“Wyn…I saw her. I saw Nicole.” 

Pulling back, Wynonna looked down at her sister. She knew that it would have been Nicole, that her sister would see her best friend when she closed her eyes. But hearing Waverly say her name out loud? Admit to something most people are way too damn scared to? Well, it made Wynonna beyond proud.

At the look Wynonna was giving her, full of affection, Waverly couldn’t help but giggle and repeat the revelation once more. “Oh my God, it was Nic!”

Wynonna let out a loud ‘whoop!’ at Waverly’s words and pressed a tender kiss to her baby sister’s head.

She had done it, she had really done it! Waverly had finally realized who had been inside of her heart the whole time. All it had taken was a bit of interference and some visualization from her older sister.

“I’m so proud of you, Babygirl,” Wynonna said, voice gentle and full of emotion.

Waverly could only beam back at her in response, feeling her initial fear fade, only to be replaced with complete giddiness. She felt…lighter, somehow. Like everything was finally put into focus like everything finally made sense. It was as if she had been missing this big piece of the puzzle. One huge, vital piece. And, now...she had finally found it.

But as quickly as it came, the sunshine began to wane and Waverly’s shoulders drooped, smile falling from her face. “Wyn…what if she doesn’t-”

But Wynonna was quick to stop that descent down the rabbit hole, trying to reassure Waverly without giving everything away. “Trust me, Waves. Nicole would be crazy not to. Now, are you gonna go tell her or what?”

And just like that, the megawatt smile was back as Waverly replied excitedly, “Yeah, I think I am!”

Mirroring her sister’s grin, Wynonna grabbed the keys to the Jeep from the table and tossed them to Waverly. “Alright, I’m gonna break the news to Chump and the guests, you go get the girl.”

Guilt flashed quickly across Waverly’s face, prompting Wynonna to reassure her. 

“Hey, don’t worry about him or about anyone else. They don’t matter here and they’ll get over it. You do not have to apologize for following your heart, you hear me, Waverly?”

Nodding her head, Waverly shot her sister a grateful smile and fiddled with the keys for a moment before spinning on her heel. She paused at the door and looked at her sister over her shoulder for a moment, hesitation clear on her face. 

“But wait, isn’t Nicole sick? I shouldn’t go over there if she-”

“Babygirl, she’ll open the door for you. No crappy crab cakes could stop that girl from seeing you.”

Brow wrinkling in confusion, Waverly looked up at her sister oddly. “But Nic didn’t touch the crab cakes last night…”

Eyes widening in surprise, Wynonna tried to backtrack, to correct her misstep. “Oh shit. I meant the shrimp...yeah, it was definitely the shrimp that did Haughtsauce in.”

“Wynonna…” Waverly said, threatening tone coloring her words.

“Oh fuck it all, that girl can’t even lie to you when she _isn’t_ here.”

Shooting a withering glare at her sister, Waverly said, “Wynonna, I have to go. But we are _sooo_ talking about the fact that you conspired with my best friend to lie to me on my wedding day, later. Okay?” 

Rolling her eyes, Wynonna shot back, “Only if there’s booze, Babygirl. And lots of it.”

Scoffing good-naturedly, Waverly shook her head and then smiled at her sister one final time before leaving. She had somewhere she needed to be.

She only hoped she wasn’t too late.

\--End Chapter Nine--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sort of a cliffhanger...but I couldn't put all the good stuff into one chapter!! But maybe everyone will sleep better at night knowing that Waverly has realized her feelings for Nicole...?
> 
> The next chapter is the confrontation between the two best friends...I wonder how it's going to go...
> 
> Come back next Wednesday for the second-to-last chapter of this fic to find out :)


	10. Gravity/Nowhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Nicole readjusted her position under the covers, trying to get comfortable.
> 
> She hadn’t really moved since her phone call with Wynonna that morning. Sure, she had gotten up to grab some coffee and then some ice cream.
> 
> But then she had gotten back into bed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S HERE MY DUDES!!!
> 
> I won't delay you reading this, but just FYI the chapter title comes from two songs because this monumental chapter deserved two! The songs are Gravity by Sara Bareilles and Nowhere by East of Eli ft. Chyler Leigh! PLEASE listen to them, they are wonderful :)
> 
> Without further ado...
> 
> IT'S TIME FOR WAYHAUGHT!!! 
> 
> xoxo

** Chapter Ten: Gravity/** **Nowhere **

Nicole readjusted her position under the covers, trying to get comfortable.

She hadn’t really moved since her phone call with Wynonna that morning. Sure, she had gotten up to grab some coffee and then some ice cream.

But then she had gotten back into bed.

As she lay there, amongst the blankets and empty Ben and Jerry’s cartons, listening to the cold rain pitter-patter against her bedroom window, she couldn’t help but think about Waverly.

It was totally cliché, but she had fallen for Waverly Earp at the very start. It had just always been different with her. It was easy. It was simple. It was something she had never experienced with anyone else. The sense, the feeling, that she could just _be_. She never had to hide or pretend. She could be the most authentic version of herself…because Waverly made her feel safe enough to do so. 

Waverly…she was just a complete ray of sunshine. She brought light into Nicole’s life, chased away the darkness that had been her reality for so long. Ever since Waverly had shown up, not once had Nicole questioned her worth, her value.

Waverly…she was insanely intelligent. Incredibly caring and kind. Completely selfless. Driven and dedicated as hell. And she had the biggest and warmest heart of anyone Nicole had ever met.

Her brilliant and beautiful best friend was without a doubt the best thing in her life. She had never been able to imagine a life without her in it.

But now she had to.

Feeling tears prick the corners of her eyes, Nicole sniffled and curled deeper under the covers.

Things could never be the same, they never _would_ be the same. She had left Waverly, on what was arguably going to be the most important day of her life, alone. She had left her best friend without a maid of honor because, for the first time in their friendship, Nicole had been selfish. She had put her wants and her needs before Waverly’s.

Nicole tried not to let the guilt get to her. Deep down, she knew she had made the right decision. But no matter how many times she told herself that…it wouldn’t take away the bitter taste of betrayal on her tongue.

 _God, I’m so pathetic_ , Nicole thought, not for the first time over the last 8 months. 

A loud knock at the door shook her out of her thoughts and out of her own personal pity party. Nicole's forehead creased in confusion as she tried to figure out who would be stopping by at this hour. With a glance at the clock, Nicole realized it was less than 15 minutes into Waverly and Champ’s ceremony. Which meant they were probably saying their vows…saying ‘I do’. The thought sent a debilitating wave of nausea through her, causing her to stay in bed an extra moment to let it pass.

Finally, feeling somewhat calmer and like she wasn’t about to relive all that cookie dough ice cream, she pulled herself out of bed. Slipping on a pair of sweats and a plain black v-neck over her sports bra and boxers, she padded towards the front door. Without bothering to check through the peephole, she wrenched it open.

Nicole’s eyes widened comically, her mouth flopping open in shock when she realized who was at her door. 

It was Waverly Earp. Standing on her front porch. In her wedding dress. Soaked to the bone but as radiant as ever.

And she looked equal parts pleased and pissed off, a little bit of sunshine mixed with a hurricane, and it was a rather terrifying combination.

Before Nicole could say a word, Waverly was moving past her into the living room.

Getting over her shock, Nicole grumbled, “Sure, just come on in,” under her breath, and then shut the door a little more firmly than entirely necessary. She then turned around to lean against it, trying to give off an aura of cool and collected, despite the fact that her heart was hammering in her chest.  

Before she could ask Waverly the millions of questions racing through her mind, the brunette was speaking, hands on her hips, water dropping from her dress and her hair onto the hardwood floor. 

“I am _so_ mad at you, Nicole Haught!”

The redhead scoffed in disbelief. Waverly barged in here unannounced when she was supposed to be getting _married_ for Christ’s sakes and had the nerve to yell at her? Well, Nicole wasn’t having any of it, not today.

“Why? What could I have possibly done to warrant being ambushed by a rain-soaked, runaway bride?” 

With fire in her hazel eyes, Waverly stalked over to where the redhead was standing. Without warning, she punched Nicole in the shoulder.

Hard.

Recoiling, Nicole moved backward and smacked against the door, all in an effort to put some distance between them. She gingerly rubbed at the tender area a bit before dropping her hand, grimacing at the bruise she could already feel forming. 

“What the hell was that for, Waves?” 

Pointing at Nicole’s recently victimized shoulder, Waverly replied, “ _That_ was for lying to me about having food poisoning! I know you didn’t touch those crab cakes last night!” 

Nicole blinked in surprise, ready to ask just how she knew that, but Waverly was on a roll. And apparently had a little more fight left in her.

“And _this_ ,” she added, hitting Nicole’s defenseless shoulder once more, “was for leaving me on my wedding day!” 

Biting back a pained groan, Nicole quickly trapped Waverly’s flying fist in her hands, stilling the brunette’s movements for the most part, but she was having trouble keeping a grip on her rain-slicked skin.

Shaking her head, Nicole looked down at her best friend in bewilderment. “Waverly! You gotta stop hitting me!”

The brunette huffed and visibly deflated, causing Nicole to slowly unfurl her grip on Waverly’s wrist and lean as far back into the door as she could, putting some much-needed space between them.

Waverly crossed her recently freed arm over the other and dropped her gaze, a small ‘sorry’ escaping her almost blue lips. 

Realizing her best friend was not only soaking wet but freezing cold as well, Nicole momentarily forgot her confusion and frustration. All she felt was concern and a desire to take care of Waverly, to make sure she was okay.

Just like she always did. And probably always would. 

“Waves…let’s get you warm. And then we can talk about whatever _that_ was.”

Nodding her head, the brunette finally succumbed to the shivers she had been fighting off, hands raising to rub at the material over her upper arms. 

Nicole quickly moved around her and steered Waverly towards the kitchen with a hand on her lower back. She grabbed a thick, woolen blanket from the couch on the way and pulled it over Waverly’s shoulders securely. A grateful sigh escaped the brunette’s lips and she shot a tentative smile up at Nicole as she adjusted the blanket. 

“Thank you,” she whispered, eyes trying to catch Nicole’s. 

But the redhead wouldn’t look at her. She simply finished her task of wrapping Waverly up like a human burrito before guiding her into the kitchen. Nicole directed her towards a chair at her kitchen table before she was moving towards the Keurig on the counter, set to make Waverly something hot to drink.

“Tea?”

Waverly hummed in reply. “Yes, please. Could I have-”

“Mint tea, yeah I know,” Nicole interrupted, already pulling the box out of her cupboard, keeping her back turned on the brunette.

“You have a box of my favorite tea?” Waverly asked, voice filled with wonder.

Nicole simply shrugged and went back to the task at hand, willing her mind not to wander. She tried not to let herself go over all the possibilities and the reasons for why Waverly could be here. But she couldn’t stop her over-active imagination.

At first, she had been slightly distracted when Waverly showed up, too in shock and then too in pain to truly question why her best friend was here. At her place. On her wedding day. During her wedding. But now…she had time to think, to wander down the rabbit hole.

One question immediately jumped into her mind, one that caused her stomach to clench, her heart to beat wildly in her chest. She realized she needed an answer to it because this question that had the power to ultimately shatter what was left of her heart…or piece it back together, to help it heal.

As she watched hot water fill the mug, Nicole hesitantly asked, “Why are you here, Waves?”

She heard her best friend suck in a breath. Nicole had no idea what Waverly was about to say, had no clue what her answer would be. But she knew her heart wouldn’t be able to survive much. It had already been through enough.

“Well…umm…oh, fuck it.” 

Hearing Waverly curse, Nicole turned around, surprised. And then she was even more surprised when Waverly was moving towards her with sure steps, blanket abandoned on the chair.

Before Nicole could react, Waverly stepped right into her space, wrapped a hand around the back of her neck, and pulled her head down to crash their lips together. Nicole’s brows shot up at the gesture and she felt her entire body stiffen.

But Waverly’s lips felt so soft, so _right_ …and she just melted.

Waverly Earp, her best friend in the entire world and woman she was hopelessly in love with, was kissing _her_.

It was as if her every dream and fantasy had come true. And almost without permission from her heart or her mind, Nicole found herself kissing back, getting lost in the moment, in the feeling of Waverly pressed against her. 

Waverly knew the instant Nicole began to respond, felt the change in her best friend. The lips that had been previously frozen, unmoving, began to slide against hers confidently, and the brunette let out an involuntary moan at the feeling.

Nicole Haught was many things…and apparently, she could add ‘amazing kisser’ to that list as well, in Waverly’s no-longer unbiased opinion.

Her strong hands had fallen to Waverly’s hips and Nicole brought their bodies closer together, fingers flexing against the brunette's dress-covered body. Waverly arched her back, pushing herself into the redhead, and lifted both of her hands up to cup the redhead’s face, keeping their lips locked in the most wonderful and perfect first kiss.

But as quickly as it had begun, it ended.

When Waverly tentatively swiped her tongue across Nicole’s bottom lip, she felt herself being pushed back by the strong hands on her hips, putting an abrupt end to their kiss.

Blinking her eyes open in confusion, Waverly looked up at Nicole with hooded eyes. She saw Nicole's red hair all askew, her lips slightly kiss-swollen, but she had this expression on her face…she looked…aghast, almost tormented.

Waverly opened her mouth to speak, to say anything to explain what she had just done, but Nicole simply held up her hand, causing the words to die in her throat. Lifting pain-filled brown eyes to meet Waverly’s, Nicole finally spoke, voice a little deeper than normal, almost husky.

“Waverly…what the hell was that?”

The corner of Waverly’s mouth quirked up in a half-smile as she took a tentative step closer to Nicole, bringing them inches apart from each other once more. Holding Nicole’s gaze, Waverly reached out and grabbed one of the redhead’s hands in her own. She brought it up to her mouth and pressed a delicate kiss to Nicole's knuckles, all without breaking eye contact.

Nicole let out a shuddery breath at the feeling of Waverly’s lips on her skin. This was, without a doubt, the most intimate thing Nicole had ever experienced. 

Lips still a breath away from Nicole's hand, Waverly whispered, “It was the answer to your question.” 

Nicole’s forehead crinkled in confusion both at the response and at Waverly’s actions. “How does that answer my question?” she murmured.

Waverly slowly dropped Nicole's hand and let out a deep breath. In her mind, she knew this was the moment. _This_ was the time to confess, to come clean. She could no longer deny the pull she felt towards the redhead. She could no longer run away from it. Because Nicole was standing right in front of her and despite how scared she was, Waverly was ready to finally follow her heart.

Erasing the whisper of space between them, Waverly lifted her hands and cupped Nicole’s face, repeating her action from earlier. She stared up into those chocolate brown eyes and decided it was time to jump off that cliff. But now, she was sure that she would fly…because she had Nicole. 

“Do you wanna know what I realized today?"

At Nicole's raised brow, Waverly continued. "I realized that no matter what happened today, it wouldn’t have been perfect. It wouldn’t have been perfect because _you_ weren’t there.”

Nicole’s eyes dropped to the floor, unable to continue looking into those hazel pools so full of affection and longing, sure that she was just imagining things. There was no way Waverly was here, standing in front of her, saying these things. That’s not how it worked…she wasn’t supposed to get the girl.

“What are you saying…” Nicole breathed, voice thick with emotion.

Tilting her head down to catch Nicole’s eyes, Waverly reconnected their gazes. After taking another deep breath, Waverly gently traced her thumbs across Nicole’s cheekbones and replied, “I’m saying that it wouldn’t be the wedding I wanted if you weren’t there Nic."

Shaking her head, Nicole swallowed thickly. “I still don’t-”

“I know…I’m really not doing a great job of explaining myself am I?” Waverly asked breathlessly. 

Nicole let out a small chuckle, letting the self-deprecating humor lighten the mood for a moment. Releasing a breath, Nicole fixed her gaze more firmly on Waverly, feeling both ready and terrified.

The small, hopeful part of her had a feeling about where this was going. But the more cynical part of her needed to hear Waverly say it. Out loud. She had been so naively hopeful in moments before, listening to that small whisper of optimism, only to be crushed seconds later. So this time, she didn’t need half-truths or talking in circles. She needed complete honesty. And that’s what she was going to ask for.

Nicole slowly lifted her hands and gently gripped onto Waverly’s wrists, anchoring her to the woman in front of her. “Waves, you’re doing fine…just maybe, umm, try using more verbal explanations and less physical attacks?” the redhead teased, voice a little strained.

Waverly’s hazel eyes lit up as an easy laugh escaped her lips. Beaming up at Nicole, she slowly continued to trace the alabaster skin beneath her thumbs. “Alright, no more hitting you or jumping you, I promise.”

With an encouraging squeeze of Waverly’s wrists, Nicole shot a timid half-smile at the brunette, feeling as ready as she ever would be for this conversation.

Waverly let out a shaky breath and began to bare her heart, bare her soul. “Nic…I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for everything. For what I’ve put you through and then for just barging in here and…hitting you,” Waverly confessed sheepishly. Growing serious, and a little fearful, she continued at nothing more than a whisper, “And I’m sorry for jumping you-kissing you…without making sure this was something you wanted. Oh god, Nic, I shouldn’t have-” Waverly broke off, dropping her hands quickly from Nicole’s face as if she had been burned by the touch.

She hadn’t even stopped to consider if Nicole wanted this. Sure Nicole had kissed her back…before pushing her away. Maybe Wynonna had been wrong…oh god what had she done?

Tears gathered in the corners of Waverly's eyes as she shook her head forcefully, trying to back up and put space between her and Nicole. 

A firm, but gentle, grip stopped her.

Waverly looked up at Nicole with worried eyes. She held the redhead’s gaze for a moment before dropping it to stare at the place where Nicole soft fingertips were touching her skin, setting her insides aflame.

The redhead tugged lightly on Waverly’s wrist, bringing the brunette back towards her. Feeling the now-familiar weight of Waverly’s body pressed against hers, Nicole used a finger to tilt the brunette’s chin up, reconnecting their gazes.

Giving her best friend a warm smile, Nicole slightly shook her head before replying, “Oh Waves…this _is_ what I want…more than anything. All I have ever wanted...was _you_." 

And just like that, the worry and fear in Waverly’s hazel eyes faded away, replaced with tenderness, with love. She parted her lips, set to respond, but Nicole placed her pointer finger against her mouth, silencing her words.

“But-” Nicole continued, “-I’m having a little trouble wrapping my head around the fact that you’re here…with me. I just…I don’t understand how you could be here, wanting me too…”

Pressing a feather-light kiss to the finger still pushed against her lips, Waverly gave Nicole a rueful smile in response, guilt flashing across her face. She slowly reached out and grasped onto Nicole’s hips, playing with the skin peeking out from between her sweatpants and shirt.

“That’s my fault, Nic. I should have realized all of this sooner. I just...I was so blind. I couldn’t see what,  _who_ , was standing right in front of me. And I’m so sorry that it took me so long to get here…but I’m here now. And I want you, Nic. So damn much and-”

Her words were rewarded with the most brilliant and glorious smile she had ever seen on Nicole's face. And she was powerless to resist tilting her head up to capture Nicole's lips in a sweet but searing kiss. But before Waverly could get lost in the feeling of Nicole’s lips pressed against hers, in how perfectly they fit together, the redhead was pulling back.

Her eyes were tightly shut, slight confusion etched across her features. “Whoa wait, Waverly, wait. What about Champ? What about the wedding?”

Nicole cautiously opened her eyes after voicing the questions, scared that she had burst the bubble they found themselves in. She didn’t want to return to reality, to leave this dream-like state they were in. But she had to ask, she had to know.

With a squeeze of Nicole’s hips, Waverly replied, “It didn’t happen. I left him…and I came here.”

“Why?”

“Because…I love you,” Waverly murmured, smiling up at the redhead before dropping her gaze, flustered at having just confessed that.

Gently gripping Waverly’s chin between her thumb and pointer finger, Nicole tilted the brunette's head up and shot her best friend a dimpled grin.

“I love you, too,” Nicole said, tone full of reverence. She then leaned down and placed her lips back on Waverly’s, back where they belonged.

\--

Hours later found them curled up on Nicole’s couch, barely an inch of space between them.

The redhead had convinced Waverly to change out of her wedding dress at one point, in favor of putting on a pair of Nicole’s flannel pajama bottoms and a ‘Purgatory SD’ baseball T-shirt. Waverly was swimming in the clothes, but Nicole thought she looked absolutely adorable in the too-long pajamas and a too-big baseball tee.

After getting comfy, the two made their way into the living room. Nicole had momentarily left the brunette's side to place some wood into the fireplace and light it, knowing Waverly was in serious need of some heat. Flames soon began to dance in the fireplace, giving off much-needed warmth on the cold, damp day.

Nicole then returned to the couch. She quickly had the brunette snuggled up against her, her arm wrapped around Waverly’s shoulders, keeping her close. She had taken to running her fingers through Waverly’s hair, working out the tangles and snags resulting from her trek through the rain.

Waverly was practically purring in delight as she felt Nicole’s fingers move through her hair, occasionally scraping against her scalp. She tucked her head even further beneath Nicole’s chin and sighed, feeling completely relaxed.

The two seemed to settle into this newfound intimacy surprisingly easily. It really wasn’t all that different from how they acted before today. Well…except for the kisses they continued to exchange.

Some were chaste and sweet. Others were exploratory and open-mouthed. And some…well one in particular, stoked a fire that burned so hot between them that Nicole had barely found the self-control to stop them from having their way with each other right then and there on the couch.

But since then, things had cooled off, leaving them entangled and all cuddled up together beneath a blanket.

Silence had stretched between them, neither one feeling the need to fill it, instead choosing to relish in the newness of the blossoming relationship. Until Waverly was struck with sudden inspiration.

“Nic?” she asked, breath ghosting across Nicole’s exposed collarbone.

The redhead shuddered at the feeling, biting back a moan as she felt Waverly nuzzle against the soft spot at the base of her neck.

“Yeah?” she replied, voice cracking with suppressed need.

“Do you want to do something crazy?”

Tilting her head down to look at the brunette, Nicole eyed her curiously, a smile tugging at her lips. “With you?”

Ducking her head with a blush, Waverly nodded, giggling into Nicole’s chest.

Using one of her hands, Nicole cupped Waverly’s cheek and encouraged her to look up, hazel eyes meeting brown.

“I’d do anything with you, Waverly Earp. All you have to do is ask.”

Playful mirth filled Waverly’s eyes. Quick as a flash, she was moving, lifting herself up off the couch cushions. She smoothly swung a leg over Nicole’s hips and sank down into her lap, one hand playing with the fiery locks at the nape of Nicole's neck.

Nicole gulped, throat bobbing, as she looked up at Waverly, her pupils blown wide. Her hands fell to Waverly’s hips and she let her thumbs trace patterns on the fabric of her flannel pajama pants.

Waverly leaned down and ghosted her lips against the outer shell of Nicole’s ear, whispering, “Anything?”

Nicole whimpered at the sensation, a breathless ‘yeah’ escaping her parted lips. 

After placing an open-mouthed kiss to the silky smooth skin beneath the redhead’s ear, which elicited a sharp gasp from Nicole, Waverly pulled back and jumped off the couch.

Nicole let out an exasperated sigh at the loss of contact and watched Waverly stalk over to her cabinet of DVDs. After a moment of rifling around, Waverly spun on her heel and made her way back over to Nicole. Sitting back down in the redhead’s lap, she presented her movie of choice.

“Even watch _My Best Friend’s Wedding_ with me?”

Eyes crinkling as a dimpled grin broke out across her features, Nicole leaned up to place a kiss to the tip of Waverly’s nose.

“Yeah, Waves. Even that.”

\--End Chapter Ten--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this lived up to y'alls expectations! I have been building the tension for 9 whole chapters, and I hope I did it justice. 
> 
> There is one final chapter that wraps everything up and it will be posted Saturday :)
> 
> Thanks for joining me on this journey, I am super sad it's almost over.
> 
> xoxo


	11. Rest of My Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Eventually, they moved upstairs. 
> 
> Waverly had been dozing for a while, the warmth from the fire and the movie lulling her into a state of peaceful relaxation.
> 
> When Nicole felt Waverly’s breathing slow, when more and more time passed between the puffs of air hitting her exposed collarbone, she knew it was time to move them."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we have it...the last chapter!!
> 
> First, the chapter title refers to the song Rest of my Days by Emily James. I used it in the last fic I wrote and I seriously love it so much that I'm using it. Again. Lol!
> 
> Okay so this chapter has a bit more heart to heart conversations between Waverly and Nicole. I felt like they would have more to talk about!
> 
> And then we get the final scene...which may or may be serving to right a wrong I did in this fic back in the first chapter...
> 
> But enough summaries! Go enjoy the last installment of this fic! I have loved sharing it with all of you and I hope this ending does it justice!

** Chapter Eleven: Rest of My Days **

Eventually, they moved upstairs. 

Waverly had been dozing for a while, the warmth from the fire and the movie lulling her into a state of peaceful relaxation.

When Nicole felt Waverly’s breathing slow, when more and more time passed between the puffs of air hitting her exposed collarbone, she knew it was time to move them. 

They were far too old to fall asleep on the couch anyways.

Like she had done all those months ago, she picked Waverly up and cradled her in her arms. She felt the brunette burrow deeper into them, a content smile playing on her lips. But this time, holding Waverly like this didn't hurt, didn't break her heart. This time, Nicole held Waverly in her arms and knew that Waverly was  _hers_.

Nicole carefully carried her best friend (girlfriend?) upstairs and settled her underneath the covers of her bed. Pressing a much firmer kiss to Waverly’s forehead than she had last time, Nicole leaned back and noticed sleep-filled hazel eyes flutter open at the touch. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Waverly said, letting out a silent but adorable yawn.

Nicole hesitated, already second-guessing her chivalrous intentions. “Umm, the couch?”

Waverly giggled and rolled her eyes before leaning up to grab a fistful of Nicole’s soft t-shirt. “And why would you do that when this bed is plenty big enough for the two of us?” she replied, using her not-so-deceptively strong upper body to pull Nicole onto the bed.

The redhead tumbled down, trying her best to avoid landing directly on top of the brunette as her overjoyed laughter echoed off the walls of the bedroom. She ended up falling onto her back into the spot right beside Waverly. Pushing up onto her elbow, Nicole looked over at the brunette, eyes twinkling, a dimpled grin on her face. “Color me impressed, Waverly Earp. There aren’t many women who can put me on my back.”

Smirking, Waverly mirrored her position, inching her face closer to Nicole’s. “Oh, Nic…you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

Nicole’s eyes darkened and she surged forward to kiss the brunette soundly, communicating her anticipation and thrill at Waverly’s comment. The kiss soon turned hungry, wanting. Waverly’s hand found its way into Nicole’s short, fiery locks. It tangled in there, giving a none too gentle tug, effectively keeping Nicole’s mouth locked on hers. The redhead moaned at the feeling of Waverly pulling harder on her hair, loving the slight sting of pain combined with the immense pleasure of Waverly’s sweet kiss.

Nicole fell back onto the bed and pulled Waverly partially on top of her, never letting their lips disconnect for a second. 

She couldn’t get over this. That Waverly Earp was _here_. In her bed. Straddling one of her thighs. Hot, hungry mouth kissing her absolutely senseless. 

Pulling back, more than a little breathless, Nicole gazed wide-eyed up at Waverly, taking in her kiss-swollen lips, her hazel eyes with the pupils blown wide with desire. 

She brought one of her hands up to caress Waverly’s face, stroking the tanned skin beneath her fingertips. Getting lost in the brown and gold irises above her, Nicole wondered aloud, words said at no louder than a whisper, “Is-is this even real?” 

Waverly heard the sheer awe and amazement in Nicole’s gravelly voice. But she also heard the tremor of disbelief, of insecurity. It sounded as if Nicole didn’t really believe this was happening. As if she were only dreaming and would wake up to find herself in a reality where Waverly wasn’t here and wasn’t hers.

After turning her head to place a soft kiss to Nicole’s palm, she shot the woman beneath her a reassuring smile.

“It’s real, Nic. You’re real and I’m real and _this_ … _this_ is real.”

She tilted her head down to reconnect their lips only to find that Nicole had leaned back, moving her lips out of reach. Trepidation and uncertainty crept into Nicole’s chocolate brown eyes. 

“How can you be sure? How...how do you know you’re not going to wake up tomorrow and think this was a mistake? That this was just…a case of cold feet or something?” 

“Hey-” Waverly said softly, eyes boring into Nicole’s, communicating the depth of her conviction, “-this isn’t about that. I’m not here because I’m confused or scared. I’m here because I love and I want you.” 

Nodding her head, Nicole let her suddenly watery eyes fall shut, a shuddery breath escaping her lips. “Okay...I’m sorry, Waves, for being so needy and asking you for reassurance. I just-” she broke off, unsure if now was the time or place to get into all of this. 

“Just what, Nic?” Waverly prompted, her tone soft, her face open, her willingness to listen and understand evident in her angelic features. 

Nicole let out a deep breath and gently pushed Waverly off of her. She sat up, scooting back against the headboard. She reached behind her and grabbed her pillow, laying it on her lap. Patting the cushion, she shot a half-smile at the brunette and beckoned her to lie down.

Waverly melted and immediately complied, laying down on her back so that she could stay facing Nicole.

“You want to get into this now?” Nicole asked, the fingers of her left hand beginning to run through Waverly’s hair, taking up the soothing motion.

“No time like the present for a good heart-to-heart, right?” Waverly quipped, earning a huff of laughter from the redhead.

“Alright...I guess I just…I didn’t think this was something I was going to get, you know? God, Waves, I’ve loved you and wanted to be with you from the very beginning. But because of…certain circumstances-”

“Oh, you mean Champ and my presumed straightness,” Waverly interrupted with an adorable scowl. 

Chuckling, Nicole leaned down to press a tender kiss to the crinkle that had appeared between Waverly’s brows.

“Yeah, those circumstances. Anyways, because of them, I could only be your friend. But I decided then and there, that very first day, that I wanted to be in your life. In whatever capacity you would have me. And somehow...for whatever reason, you chose me as your best friend, and it's a role I gladly played, and continue to play. I knew it would be hard but…you were worth it. All of the moments of pure torture I endured…they were all worth it.”

“Nic, I-” 

Shaking her head, Nicole continued to run her fingers through Waverly’s hair and said, “Let me get through this, Waves, okay?”

The brunette slightly nodded and then turned to completely face her, now laying on her side. Nicole’s hand remained in her hair and she continued her ministrations, the motion calming them both. Waverly brought one of her hands up to grab onto Nicole’s free one, tangling their fingers together. 

Nicole released a shaky breath and continued. 

“I-I think I fell in love with you the first second I laid eyes you. Some people say that's impossible...but I'm living proof they're wrong. I think you know immediately. The second your eyes meet...you just know. And every moment after that just confirms that you had been right from the very beginning. I felt that with you, that pull, that connection...but I knew it probably wasn't reciprocated and that you didn't feel that way about me. You had Champ and I was relegated to the friend zone...But I-I always foolishly held out hope you know? Because there would be times when you would look at me and I would feel like…there was something there. Something in your eyes had me convincing myself that maybe, one day, it could happen. And then 8 months ago you showed up with a ring on your finger…” 

Waverly let out a sigh, squeezing Nicole’s hand in her own. “I’m sorry, Nic. I shouldn’t have…well, if I had known-” 

“If you had known, we probably wouldn’t be here right now,” Nicole interjected gently. 

With an adorable pout, Waverly huffed and then conceded the point. “Fine…but why did you agree to be my maid of honor? You could have said no...” 

Nicole disagreed, a melancholy smile making its way on her face as she got a far-off look in her eyes. “Waves…I can’t say no to you. Surely you’ve realized it after all these years…that you could ask me for anything in the world, absolutely anything, and I would do everything in my power to get it for you.” 

Waverly gazed up at her with a love-struck expression, seemingly unable to wrap her head around the fact that Nicole meant every word she had just said. That Nicole loved her so much, that Nicole would endure the absolute agony of being her maid of honor, simply because she had asked. 

“It’s funny,” Nicole continued, “your sister asked me the same thing a few weeks ago.”

Brow furrowed, Waverly angled her head on the pillow to look Nicole square in the face. "What do you mean?"

"Well, she asked me why I agreed to be your maid of honor when I was clearly so in love with you and in so much pain about it."

“Wait, Wynonna knows?”

Nodding, Nicole answered, “Yeah…sorry about that. I kinda told her everything that night at _Shorty’s_. She-she asked me and I answered, well actually more like she called me out on it and I didn't exactly put up a fight. I guess I had been just carrying around this burden, this weight, by myself for so long…that I needed to tell someone. Even if that someone was your older sister.”

Sadness flashed across Waverly’s face at Nicole’s words, causing her to burrow her head into the redhead’s stomach. She honestly was only just starting to understand the depth of Nicole's pain, the amount of hurt she had gone through all of these years. It made Waverly's heart ache to know she had been the cause of it. But she knew that if she started apologizing again, she might never stop. No amount of apologizing seemed like it would make up for what she had put Nicole through. So Waverly vowed right then and there that she would spend the rest of their lives together making up for it.

Squeezing tightly onto Nicole’s hand, Waverly went about reassuring Nicole that she hadn't done anything wrong by telling Wynonna. In fact, she had done something so very right.

“I’m actually happy you told my sister,” she mumbled into Nicole’s shirt, voice muffled. “And to tell you the truth...she was the one who gave me the push I needed today. She helped me open my eyes to see who was standing right in front of me, who was really in my heart,” Waverly finished, leaning back to look up at Nicole.

The redhead was smiling down at her, her eyes shining with both love and humor. “Well then, we should send her something to say ‘thank you’! How do you think she'd feel about a nice Edible Arrangement?”

Waverly giggled, tucking her head against Nicole’s stomach once more. Pressing a kiss to fabric, one firm enough that Nicole could feel it through the layer separating her skin from Waverly’s soft lips, the brunette rolled over onto her back. With a toothy grin, she replied, “Only if they make their 'arrangements' with donuts and whiskey!” 

Both women laughed, feeling the heaviness that had settled around them, lift. Despite the difficult topic, they both felt much better after this talk, after finally voicing things they had wanted to and needed to for so long. Waverly felt like she was starting to understand what Nicole had gone through, and Nicole felt like she had finally begun to heal.

After a few quiet moments, where the two simply looked at each other, communicating so much with the simplest of glances, Waverly broke the silence.

“Nic?” she asked quietly, eyes trained on the woman above her.

“Hmm?”

“Can we sleep now?”

Chuckling, Nicole helped Waverly sit up and then delicately pulled the pillow off of her lap, placing it beside her. “Of course, baby.” 

Eyes widening comically, Nicole realized she had let the pet name slip in there, completely involuntarily. She opened and closed her mouth, searching for an explanation, an apology. She hadn’t meant to call Waverly that, it had been a total accident. Her fear-filled eyes looked over and met Waverly's hesitantly.

The brunette was eyeing her curiously, head tilted to the side. And then, after a few seconds, a beautiful, face-splitting grin broke out across her face.

“Say that again,” Waverly breathed, moving to lay down on the other pillow, turning to face Nicole.

Nicole's brow crinkled in confusion before she realized what Waverly was talking about. Tension seeping from her muscles, she rearranged herself, laying down opposite Waverly and mirroring her position.

With a small smile, Nicole complied.

“Baby.” 

“Wow…I really like it when you call me that,” Waverly said, reaching out to tuck a lock of hair behind Nicole’s ear, letting her finger trail across Nicole’s jaw before pulling back.

“Well, I  _really_  like calling you that.”

Leaning forward, Waverly placed a sweet kiss on Nicole’s lips and then gracefully flipped over, burrowing back into Nicole’s front.

“Hold me?” she asked quietly, almost timidly. 

Nicole was quick to throw her arm across Waverly's stomach, bringing her closer. Tightening her grip, Nicole buried her face into honey-brown hair and let out a deep breath. A single whispered word escaped her parted lips, promising so much more than what Waverly had asked for. It was a promise for the future. For their future.

“Forever.” 

\--

_8 months later_

Nicole was bored, insanely bored. 

And to no one’s surprise, she was killing the time between lunch and the end of her Friday shift by spinning around in her desk chair.

She had just finished her tenth spin and was starting to get a tad dizzy when an angelic voice interrupted her.

“Baby, why is it that whenever I visit you at work, you’re goofing off?”

Nicole immediately stopped spinning, boots firmly hitting the ground. Despite the fact that the world continued to spin around her, she already knew the owner of that voice. Blinking her eyes, she saw the blurry figure of her best friend come into focus.

“Hey, baby,” Nicole greeted, a love-struck, dimpled grin on her face.

“Nedley out for dinner?”

Forehead creasing in confusion, Nicole nodded. “Same time every day, kinda like clockwork, remember?” 

Moving past the confused, seated figure of the redhead, Waverly made her way into the Sheriff’s Office, set on righting a wrong she had made oh so long ago.

“Hey, Wave-” 

Nicole diligently followed Waverly, watching the brunette hurry around the room and close the blinds, just like she had done over a year ago.

“Excuse me,” Waverly said, moving past Nicole to shut the door.

With an exasperated sigh, Nicole asked, “What is your problem? I don’t understand why you-” 

But Waverly interrupted her with an open-mouthed, filthy kiss, strong hand holding her in place with its position on the back of her neck. The force with which she moved caused the two to tumble backward onto Nedley’s couch, Nicole landing on her back, Waverly falling on top of her.

Pulling back, Nicole couldn’t help but smile at Waverly’s eagerness and said, a little breathlessly, “What happened to the 'no making out at work' rule?"

"You know, I've always hated that rule."

"Baby...you're the one who came up with it."

Waverly grinned wickedly down at the redhead. “Well, then I'm the one who can change it...”

Shaking her head, Nicole pressed a quick kiss to the tip of Waverly's nose. "Waves, I love you, but if Nedley catches us in here, I'll be manning the speed trap for  _weeks_!"

Grumbling, Waverly leaned back with a slight pout. "Fine...I'll behave."

Something about the way Waverly said those words had Nicole forgetting all about Nedley and her protestations. Eyeing the brunette hungrily, she practically growled, “God, I hope not.”

That comment earned her another dirty, and definitely not appropriate for the workplace, kiss. One she was only too happy to return.

But before they could get carried away, Waverly was pulling back. Nicole immediately chased her lips, unwilling to let their moment end. Waverly simply chuckled at the redhead’s change of heart and sudden enthusiasm. Placing a short but sweet peck on her lips, Waverly leaned back. 

“So...you ready for tomorrow?”

Tilting her head to the side, Nicole brought her hands up to rest on Waverly’s thighs, the ones current bracketing her hips. Tracing nonsensical patterns with her fingertips, Nicole's eyes darted between Waverly’s. She couldn’t hold back her smile as she answered softly, “Waves, I think I’ve been ready for this day my entire life.”

And that response earned her another kiss, one equally as inappropriate, but no less full of love.

After a few more heated moments, Nicole remembered that they only had a few more minutes before the Sheriff returned, so she began to soften her kisses, trying to cool the fire between them. Waverly seemed to catch on to what Nicole was doing and began to temper her kisses, albeit reluctantly. When they finally parted, they were both breathing heavily, both smiling. 

“God I can’t wait to marry you, Waverly Earp.”

Tilting forward to rest her forehead against Nicole’s, Waverly looked into the eyes of her future wife and felt completely at peace.

“Feeling’s mutual, baby.” 

Nicole’s dimpled grin deepened as she nuzzled Waverly’s nose with her own.

She had no idea how she got so lucky. All those months ago, when she had been in this very office, looking down at Waverly’s ring finger, she thought it was over. Every hope and dream she had had about _this_ moment, about the moments to come starting tomorrow,  had been unceremoniously tossed out the window. Until….well, until Waverly had completely thrown her for loop, turning up on her front porch in a wedding dress.

And here they were. 8 months later. Two best friends turned girlfriends turned fiancées.

With one final brush of her lips against Waverly’s, Nicole begrudgingly brought their tender moment to an end. “We gotta get up, Waves. Nedley will be back soon.” 

With an endearing huff, Waverly got off the couch and held out her hand for Nicole to take. With a gentle tug, she helped her fiancée off the couch, tangling their fingers together to lead them out of the office.

Waverly walked them to Nicole’s desk and then turned to face the redhead. She grabbed Nicole’s free hand with her own and brought their joined hands between their bodies, keeping them close together. Tilting her head back, she gazed up into familiar chocolate brown eyes, getting lost in the love swirling clearly within them.

“So, I’ll see you tomorrow, then?” 

Nicole beamed down at her fiancée, giving her hands a gentle squeeze. “Yup, 5 o’clock sharp.” 

Eyes sparkling, Waverly replied with a smile, “I’ll be the one in white.” 

Nodding, Nicole leaned down and pressed a tender kiss to Waverly’s lips. When she pulled back, she sent Waverly on her way with a breathy farewell, gaze never leaving the retreating form of her fiancée until she disappeared from view. 

Eyes sliding closed, Nicole released a deep breath and couldn’t help but feel incredibly lucky. She had gotten the girl. Despite everything. Despite seemingly insurmountable odds, she and Waverly had found each other. 

And tomorrow, they were going to say ‘I do’, in front of family and friends. They were going to embark on the journey of a lifetime. They were going to finally get their happily ever after.

Those thoughts brought peace to Nicole's heart and a smile to her face as she sat down in her desk chair, intent on finishing her shift, bringing her one step closer to the fairytale ending she had always dreamed of. 

\--End Chapter Eleven--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it!! *sad, ugly crying like I do every time I finish a fic*
> 
> So I hope everyone liked the ending and then the re-writing of the couch scene. I felt like I needed to right the wrong I had done to it early on in this fic! :)
> 
> And I hope that each and every one of you who have taken the time to read this fic, to leave kudos, to comment, know how much y'all mean to me. Writing has never been something I have been confident about. But now, because of all of you, I feel like a true writer, whose words and stories matter. So thank YOU!
> 
> So I'm having too much fun with the movie-inspired AU's to stop writing them! If anyone is curious as to my next, super exciting project, here is a hint for y'all...it's another Julia Robert's movie! Oh and it might have something to do with London and...a bookshop... :) 
> 
> Alright friends, off I go to write! My goal is to have a good chunk of it written before the season 3 premiere in 48 days!! 
> 
> I will see y'all soon :)
> 
> Until then, I'll miss you! Keep on Earpin' my dudes!
> 
> xoxo


End file.
